


✦☆vEscape The Night - If The Other Won (A Short Story) ✦☆

by Goldendoodlegamer11



Category: escape the night - Fandom
Genre: 1920s, 1970s, AU, Adventure, Alliances, Army, Baking, Carnival, Character Death, Comedy, Death, Death Journal, Electrocution, Gen, Gingerbread Woman, Guns, Kinda, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poison, Puzzles, Shipping Hints, Slight shipping hints, Smol children beware, Victorian era, Whodunnit, mansion, playing a role, puns, some happier endings? mostly not, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-05-26 19:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15007373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldendoodlegamer11/pseuds/Goldendoodlegamer11
Summary: ( A SHORT STORY )Going through the different deaths in Escape the night, what would happen if the other person in the to-the-death challenges came out victorious? What about betrayals, or partner challenges?Told through all three seasons of the umber, slightly seafoam-green and reddish-brown mansion of the 1920s, the cream-white house of the Victorian Era, and the dark violet-blue skied carnival in the 1970s Era of Everlock, many YouTubers will have to go through trials, challenges, puzzles, and alliances that might just seal their deaths...Told in short stories AND a continuous story, who will manage to Escape?





	1. Season One - Prologue

Andrea gives a small low whistle, her hand going over her heart. The place is _gorgeous!_ The interior of this strange mansion is mainly reddish-browns and rich and alive caramels that all come together, with the dark umber banisters in the center leading up to the second floor. Beneath them all is a tan and reddish-brown big carpet, and outside the sky is a dark turquoise-black that threatens to leave at any moment. Surrounding her are her friends, all in colours of white and tan and umber-gray and coral, talking animatedly.

“This is such a nice place!” Justine swoons while Andrea talks with Tim, who’s dressed in a nice suit and calling himself a Mobster. They seem fitting together; he kills people, she covers it up. At least, that’s what Tim told her, but she doesn't get it.  
She thought a Fixer was fixing things. Nevertheless, she’ll kindly remind him after the party. Because she’s that good of a friend.

 

They chat and chuckle, everyone seeming to be in small groups. A Big Game Hunter, Oli, chats with Professor Matt, with a coral-peach coated Eva sometimes joining in the conversation, while Shane and GloZell laugh over something. Everyone looks absolutely gorgeous in their outfits, terra cotta and caramel, fitting the house. Andrea hops a little on her feet.

This party is _just_ what she needs.

 

“What do you guys think?” A sudden voice calls out, and they all spin around. There’s Joey, in a black tux and a brilliant smile.

Everyone cheers as he spreads open his arms wide, taking in the mansion as if seeing it for the first time.

“Welcome, to my new house.”  
Soft murmurs surround the snazzily dazzlingly dressed people, and Eva looks around herself.

“Wait, this is yours!?” Justine asks in awe. Other people sound just as awestruck.  
“This is really your house?”  
“Whoa.”  
“This is rancid.”

“I actually have inherited this house from a distant cousin, twice removed.” He says it kind of confused, as if he doesn't understand exactly how he had acquired the admirable household. “My cousins give me nothin’,” GloZell exclaims to no one in particular, and the guests laugh.

 

“You all look amazing tonight in your 1920s attire,” Joey compliments them, smiling widely again, looking proud. “Thank you,” Multiple guests smile. And they do. Every single one of his friends look absolutely _dazzling,_ shining like stars.  
Most of the girls like Eva and Andrea are sporting buns that unfurl around their necks and stop at their collars, in copper and cinnamon-penny, which especially compliments Andrea’s hickory-tan skin and her dusty red lipstick. Separately, Andrea dawns a black dress with frills and patterns that almost make it a kimono. She wears a sparkling ruby necklace and a big black-and-white bow atop her tan-caramel bun. Eva is wearing a cream-coloured undershirt, with a fabulous salmon-peach overcoat, and a white hat. There’s a layer of shimmering gold and black underneath her overcoat.

 

Lele and Sierra both look off to the side, as if to say _yes, I know,_ and they both wear bright white-cream necklaces that shine, accompanied by long slender white gloves. Although Sierra wears all white, giving her the appearance of a small angel, while Lele wears mainly black.

Tim looks like the perfect Mobster in his checkered suit and darker gray hat. He has an air of mystery about him. Behind him, GloZell and Matt look down at themselves, almost admiring themselves. The two are wearing black and tan, respectively, and Matt had a simple black bowtie while GloZell’s poofy dark brown afro compliments her black boa.

 

Oli and Justine seem to be the most humble, Oli with a cream blouse and big almost fluffy tan overcoat, and Justine with a just-above-the-knee-length white dress which compliments her long wavy sandy blonde hair.

 

And some chuckle as Eva takes the compliment a little too well, taking her coral coat behind her thigh and moving her hand up her leg, a suggestive and humorous look in her face.

 

"I want to introduce you to my wonderful staff that actually came _with the house_ ," Joey smiles, pointing over to two people near the bright terra-cotta brown double-doorway that they hadn't noticed. "Arthur, who is head of staff-" Joey acknowledges the man who has a scruffy brown beard and swirly copper hair. He bows slightly, a big smile on the blue-gray suited man's face.

 

The group chatters a small but warm welcome, GloZell waving to him over the group's heads with a big smile while Andrea gives a warm polite wave. Tim gives the man a small respectful nod, and Matt and Sierra both smile at him. Arthur turns back to the other staff standing beside him as Joey says, "And this is Sarah, the Maid-" and a shorter black-wearing woman gives a deeper bow. "Sarah!" Multiple people shout out.  
"And then there's Marvin, who's the groundkeeper."

 

The group of YouTubers chatter, either in awe of the mansion still or in disbelief that Joey has the staff. The warm cozy atmosphere of the mansion seems to keep all of them in happy spirits, but Andrea can tell that people are getting antsy to look around, herself included. 

 

"Dinner is almost ready, but until then-" Another smile appears on their hosts' face. "Let's get to know each other a bit more, and have some drinks."

 

The YouTubers cheered excitedly, Eva being the most humorous in throwing her hands into the air in a celebratory yell. Andrea did another small jump, her heart beating with anticipation as the dark green-turquoise slipped away into a soft inky darkness and cheers sounded all around her.

 

-

Shane Dawson had been to a few YouTube parties before.

That was a lie.

He'd never been to one before. This was his first one. But man, had Joey gone all out! The mansion itself was fit for a queen, and the ambiance was amazing. He could already hear the jazz music of the 1920s filling the rooms as he stepped into the living room. In one corner, Justine was playing Black Jack with GloZell and Tim, and Shane himself joined Matt and Eva in playing darts. Shane was doing pretty well, lunging forwards to stick the small red darts near the middle. Matt even turned backwards and threw two at a time, much to Eva's amusement.

Shane smiled.

He loved the 1920s. Sure the time was fascinating, but he very much enjoyed the prospect of not having to text people back, or keeping up with any updates, or making any videos. This was great! This was _vacation_. But something was nagging in the back of his mind...his task...why he had to come here, to protect these people.

 

He waited until Joey had stopped admiring their darts game and gone to talk with another group to pull aside Eva quietly, and he asked the question that, unbeknownst to him, would kick off the panic, alliances, heartache and pain to follow.

 

"Are we allowed to look around?"


	2. My Cursed Enemy - Eva & Shane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first victim of the house was, as we know, Shane Dawson. Poisoned and collapsed, his friends had to try desperately to save him, but they failed. Now, what if Shane wasn't the one that had been poisoned..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's already been one chapter and I don't wanna do this.

Eva's hand moves swiftly against the smooth caramel-colored banister of the stairs. Shane comes up just behind her, smiling excitedly. Just moments before, he had asked her if they were allowed to look around. She had told him, "I'm down if you're down." and here they were.

"You scared yet?" Eva teases. Outside, the sky is a whirlwind of turquoise and violet-blue and and inky black. Eva looks around, staring at a few paintings on the walls of the second floor. The second floor is the exact same colour as the first, a reddish-brown and swirl of caramel that seems to soothe the soul, but it also feels a little...creepy. Eva's about to say something when Shane stops her. "Wait."

 

There, in the hallway across from them, in a body. All the two can do is stare at it in wild confusion and terrified awe as it gets dragged away, leaving behind bits of small tattered violet-gray clothing and streaks of awfully metallic smelling blood. Eva begins to walk forwards, her Journalism role moving through her veins and her heart pumping against her chest, but Shane grabs her sleeve. 'Wait. Maybe-" The two see a shadow.

A second later, the Maid comes walking back around the corner. Eva jumps and backpedals.

 

"The dinner's ready," Sarah says, her voice a bit too gentle to be normal.

  
"W-Where's the bathroom?" Eva asks.

"You should probably head downstairs," Sarah says, her tone the same. She, again, points to the staircase behind them. "Kay - here, turn around," Shane says softly, turning the girl around. Eva goes back downstairs, her eyes on the Maid. She dosen't hear what Shane says next.

 

 -

 

"I know what you're doing."

 

Sarah looks down, her eyes glaring at Shane. He turns around huffily and leaves. Sarah has only a moment to decide who saw the most - Shane Dawson, Renegade and member of the Society Against Evil, one whose mission to bring down their organization, or Eva Gutowski, Journalist and writer. 

 

She almost chooses Shane.

But then she re-thinks.

 

Eva is curious, and almost went ahead to see the body, and if she escaped, she would have a small army of people believing in her words to come and hunt them down. To destroy everything they'd worked so hard for, to accomplish. If she poisoned Dawson then sure, there would be one less member of the SAE to deal with...but then there would be no chaos - he would not be able to alert people of the dangers. It would take away from any knowledge that they would attain. The girl, however, looked a little too curious for her own good. And, after all..

 

Curiosity killed the cat.

 

-

 "OOOoooh!!!" Eight YouTubers crow in alarm as Eva and Shane enter the dining room, which has been decorated in delicious-looking food, and Eva can make out roast beef and some sort of sauce with pasta.  Joey twitches in his seat, feeling disrespected.  
_Don't go ahead and look around, especially when I told you not to._

_But anyways.._

Joey puts on a big smile, looking as Eva and Shane sit on opposite sides of the table, people talking over them.  
"Where were you guys?"  
"You're a little late, you're a little late.."  
"Where were you?"

 

"What is this?" Shane answers instead, looking at his plate dumbly.  
"We're not changing the subject," Matt tells them.

Oli looks over at Eva.  
"We want to know where you guys were," Joey says.

 

"I was in the bathroom," Is Eva's excuse, awkwardly smiling, dusting something from her coral overcoat. Complaints fill the mansion. 

"Is this real food, can we eat this?" Shane asks. "Stop changing the subject, I wanna know where you guys were." The Host can feel himself shaking slightly with frustration for disobeying his wishes. Eva's eyes flash slightly with alarm, but she continues to chew on the food on her plate.

None of the guests get anything from Shane either, who just keeps asking if the food is real.

 

There's something they're not telling them.

-

Eva wants to tell them so badly what happened.

But she can't.

_I just need to keep this myself and keep the group calm..._

 

Instead, she says, "As much as I love a good make-out, I was literally pooping." Most of the other YouTubers nod.

 "Oh, okay," Joey says, sounding glad to have gotten an answer from her. 

Eva feels _relieved._

 

Joey turns his head to Shane. "What about you?" Suddenly and almost too abruptly, Arthur comes into the room. He has something small in his hand. He bends over, whispering something to Eva before handing her a small note. She blinks, then blinks again.

Arthur leaves.

 

"Okay, now you have to tell us what's in there!" Someone says.  
Eva winks humorously. "Why, ya jealous?" She asks teasingly, then opens the letter and begins to read. 

-

Justine sees Eva's smile falter slightly, but she dosen't think much of it. Instead, she's in love; with this mansion, with these outfits, with the ambiance of everything. She loves the small white-cream outfit that fits her perfectly and the small dusty golden-rose headband across her forehead that dangles just above her nose. She loves being here with her friends, having a good time-

And then the Maid comes with a platter.

 

Everyone is cheering, excited for a beautifully done main-course that is sure to be delicious ( _man,_ thinks Justine, _this beats the heck out of that Apocalypse simulator Joey and I got invited to!_ ) and Shane looks like he's about to point out something, when Eva's eyes twist up. She leans over slightly, as if in pain, and then, in sudden panic, she covers her mouth and coughs out blood.

Justine is the first one to react.

 

" _Oh my God!!_ "

 

Shouts and screams cascade across the dinner table. Shane leans forwards, eyes wide. " _Eva?_ " Eva clutches her stomach, mostly covering her cream coloured under-blouse and coral-peach overcoat. Most of the YouTubers smile or even laugh with their mouths agape, in total and absolute shock, unsure of what to do. Oli helps stabilize Eva as she tries to get up, but her hip twists slightly and she coughs up more. Multiple people get up from the table, screaming in disgust and alarm.

Tim and Matt look horrified, while GloZell looks like she's about to vomit.

Justine gets up, shaking, and she moves to the front of the table, her hands in the air with her mouth open. _What_ is _this place?_

 

_-_

 

Oli gently moves Eva near the doorway, but Eva suddenly throws up and collapses. "Whoa!" Arthur exclaims, running to her side and just barely catching her. "Get a pillow," He says to no one in particular. Shane nods slightly and moves out of the room. Oli quietly thanks him.

" _Wot the 'ell is going on!?_ " Oli asks to no one, his arms in a gesture of pure what. Eva dry heaves. "I think I got poisoned," She manages to say before gasping for air. Joey looks to the group. "She said she was poisoned!" While most people look terrified or confused as to why or who would do this, Shane is in the back, looking deeply troubled. After a moment, he goes to Eva's side.

"Wait wait wait," Oli mumbles.

 

"I'm reading the telegram," Matt says from the other side of the table. The hickory-coated Professor is skimming the note that Eva had received. Justine is instantly a his side, reading over his shoulder. "What does it say?" Matt looks up.

"It says she's been poisoned."

 

"What?" Exclaims almost everyone. "So she knew!"  
"She knew!"

Pure terror finds its way into Oli's heart. He's just supposed to be a good-hearted but clumsy YouTuber, not a murder-mystery-solving hero. And he came for a dinner party - not whatever this was. But Eva is in trouble, so he'll try. Their Host takes the note and begins to read. The group looks like a swirl of gold and white and brown as they cluster together to read the note. The telegram itself is a tan-brown colour that hovers over Eva's dinner plate, with a strange red symbol in the lower right corner.

 

" _'In fifteen minutes you will be dead, your lungs filled with blood, however, you know I love games. There is an antidote hidden on the first floor of the house. If you and your friends are wise enough, they'll be able to solve the clues and save you. The symbols of his cult mark the clues leading to the antidote. It all begins with your last dish of the night. May you die in a horrible pain, my cursed enemy.'_ "

The news barely has any time to sink in before Matt points out, "The last dish."

"She's got the last dish."

 

"Wot the 'ell!?" Oli repeats.

Sarah proceeds to put the platter in the middle of the table. "Aw- Girl I will fork you up - what is underneath this?" GloZell demands to know from her seat, her fork at the ready. Sarah removes the platter, and everyone screams. Underneath is a human head, blood dribbling down its mouth, very dead. "Oh my goodness!" GloZell yells out, and everyone backs away, screaming and turning around in disbelief and terror. And then Oli realizes. "There's something in it's mouth."

Matt and GloZell mutter disgusted, ' _oh no,_ 's under their breath. Without a moment's hesitation, Oli reaches forwards and grabs the thing out of it's mouth. He unfurls it as Lele screams, " _Are we not gonna call the police for this!!??_ "

 

 "Something is not okay with this room. I like it in a perfect order but certain things wander around the table instead of finding their perfect fit." Oli begins to read. "Can you figure it out?" He slowly lowers the note, and a sudden panic begins to set it. Puzzles. They have to do puzzles. "This is what we have to look for. This symbol." It's a weird red circle with a bunch of swirling lines through it that cut off randomly. Behind him, Eva coughs again. She looks small and scared, and Oli feels a pang of sympathy and panic. 

"Come on guys - Eva's dying! We need to help her!" He walks around, utterly bewildered as more of the girls continue to eat their food, looking almost bored.  That panic turns to anger. They seem not really bothered by what's happening. But Eva is _dying._

 The group is in small clusters, Justine saying how she's too stupid for this, Eva still on the ground, tilting her head slightly, her eyes squeezing in pain for a brief moment. "Oh - Eva gon' die!" GloZell frets, looking around for anything that could be of use to saving her. 

 

And then Matt speaks up.

-

"Is this something?" He asks the group. They nod absentmindedly, then look again. There's a smooth hickory-brown glass-holder that has the same symbol on it as the note. He holds it up. "What was the symbol again?" He asks to no one. "Uh- like a circle," Oli replies. 

He shows it to the group.

The group, in turn almost shouts assent. "Yeah! Yeah yeah yeah!"

 

And then it's just a mad scramble, people flying around, trying to find glasses that fit into the dented holes. Finally, they find three of the right glasses. From somewhere behind Matt, something opens up, and GloZell screams bloody murder.   
No pun intended.  
"OH - NO JESUS! I REBUKE YOU SA--TAN OH LORDIE JESUS IT OPENED UP BY ITSELF!" She howls in terror, backing away and pointing her black cane fiercely at the opened box. It turns out to be a box, with a metal mesh inside, three locks placed. Underneath are three small vials with what looks to be like the colour of amber or a dusty rose.

"What's in there?" Joey asks.

The girls and Shane bend down to look at a small note attached to the underside of the lid of the box. The note is small and stained with age. "There are three keys to unlock life," Sierra begins to read, then she stand up, backing out. "This is too long, I don't wanna read this." Shane instead reads the note.  
"In the first floor study, one key to life is as high as a mountain-top. In the library is the second key which lies hidden beneath the nine - it's smudged - described by letters and word. In the foyer, it's the third key to life, which can be easily found but no one person can retrieve it without the helping hand of a friend."

 

Matt makes his way to the foyer almost right away, accompanied by Lele and Oli. There's a big wooden box with a few rounded holes and three light-bulbs on top, bathing the room in a yellow-orange colour. "How do we get the key?" Is Lele's first question. The three of them hover over the first hole on one side, until Oli stands up. "Oh, hold up - wait wait wait wait wait," he says, and proceeds to look overtop of the box.  
"We - we just need to get the square! We need to get to the square!"

 

Before Matt can process what the heck that's supposed to mean, Oli has stuck his hands inside of the holes. "There's a box in here - maybe this is the key?"

"So we have to get that box-" Matt points. "Out of this box." and he guestures to the entire thing.

 

"Alright - I wanna do it, Matt!" Lele says when Matt shoves his hands in the hole to replace Oli's. "Hang on!" He can feel the box, but no matter which direction he pushes it hits a wall. It hurts his hands to rotate his wrist and push it down another wall, and Oli and Lele look already prepared to give up.

They have their work cut out for them.

 

-

Eva's dying. 

Her stomach twists in agony , and another few specks of her poisoned roast beef come back up again. She groans and Arthur pats her back comfortingly.  
"Thanks Arthur," She manages to say before going into yet another fit of coughing.

 

 

 

Then she hears something. "A key!"

Next thing she knows, Shane's found a soft white pillow, and they're holding up an antidote to her lips. Eva, relived, drinks it all down as Arthur calls to the others, "We need all three in order to cure her!" But it's no use - Eva can already feel the poison kicking in.

 

She rests her head against the pillow which is surprisingly soft.

 

_Hurry up..._

_-_

Tim can't think.

Although he loves Andrea with all his heart, she's squawking in his ear like a broken parrot. Justine and Sierra don't contribute much either, giggling and self-deprecating themselves. He twirls a thick leather-bound book that Sierra had found on a shelf in his hands. It's heavily locked.

He reads out their task but is interrupted by Andrea yet again. "We need a mathematician."

"We need a pen," Tim clarifies, needing to get his thoughts out on paper. Sierra stands up and looks out to no one. "Where are we gonna get a pen!?" She goes to Tim's face. "Where are we gonna get a pen!?" Tim groans internally - none of these girls have read a book in _years,_ he bets.

 

They only have five minutes left...

 

_-_

They're arguing above her.

Eva shuffles slightly in her soft cream-coloured pillow as GloZell, Shane and Joey bicker about something. "This is your house! Why are we here?" GloZell is saying. "You are the YouTube killer!" Eva clutches her stomach. The poison is much stronger now, and she feels like dying isn't so bad right about now.

 

She looks to the side. Her sight is blurry now. She sees Matt and Oli...and Andrea...Justine...more dinner comes back up. "Hurry!" Arthur calls from above, startling her. She can faintly feel Shane rubbing her back. Does he...feel guilty? There's a look on his face that says he knows more than he's letting on. But Eva lets it slide. Instead, she weakly smiles up at him.  
"Wasn't your fault," She mouths.

Shane looks up at the Maid angrily, and Eva knows what he means. It was her fault.

 

She wants to wrap her head around the fact that she came here for a party in the 1920s, ready to drink and throw darts and have a fun time, and now she's on the floor, but she can't. All she can do is hope, wish and pray that her friends can save her. 

And yet, the world seems to be growing quieter, softer. Outright arguments are turning into blurred murmurs and mumbles. "Eva?" Somebody asks above her. She opens her mouth slightly before coughing into her now dusty coral overcoat. "Stay with us, okay?" Shane asks her. Eva nods bravely. She has to stay awake.

"As soon as they cure you, we can leave, have the party another time." Joey adds.

 

 _That sounds nice...another party, once I'm back home and cured and feeling better...then we can throw more darts, and I can plan that video with Justine, and I can add more accessories to my outfit..._ She nods up at Joey will a small smile.

Her stomach twists suddenly and her eyes screw up. Above her, Arthur shouts something and GloZell and Joey go back to arguing. Shane stays by her side. They have only a few moments to cure her. But Lele and Matt are still arguing, and the girls are pestering Tim to no end, and everyone's fighting...Eva dosen't even have a moment to think before she turns on her side to look at the hall.

 

 _I'm going to die,_ She realizes.

 

So she stares bravely ahead at the beautifully smooth and bright wooden floor. Colours of dark blue-purples and corals and greens and umbers and browns and white-creams swim through her vision as she takes a look at the 1920s mansion. She wanted to party..to throw darts, to drink, to play up her role and win hearts.

She dosen't even have time to think about the life in the present she'll be leaving behind. 

with a small groan, Eva turns, and her eyes begin to close.

 

_No...Hang on...Stay awake..Please...I'm not ready-_

  
The arguments and yelling warning of Arthur are gone.

Just a gentle soothing emptiness that lulls her into a dreamless sleep.

 

"..Eva?"

 

-

"Stop! Eva is gone."

The announcement shocks everyone. GloZell gasps and lets out a mournful wail, bending down and shaking the lifeless body of the perky and energetic Eva Gutowski. Her coral coat is still overtop her cream-white blouse now stained in blood. The tan-skinned Journalist looks peaceful in her pillow. Shane slowly bends now, looking devastated. He takes her white hat and gently places it over her face. "I'm sorry," He says quietly. Multiple shouts of, "WHAT!?" From the girls reign overtop his hushed apology.  
Once the terror has subsided slightly, Shane stands up.

 

"There's something I have to tell all of you."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I hated that. Sleep peacefully, Eva. Luckily she won't be dead for long! ;)


	3. Useless - Lele and Andrea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea Brooks, The Fixer. Andrea Brooks, deemed useless by her friends. Andrea Brooks, the second guest to fall in the mansion, thanks to the Ungodly Machine. But what if her partner hadn't failed her..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have mixed feelings about this one. I don't want to kill Lele, but I love Andrea, and seeing her being alive and well and making Tim relieved and not vengeful is more than enough for me! Time to save a cinnamon roll!

_I'm not useless,_ Andrea thinks defiantly. _I...I_ help _the group! I really try to help..._ She makes her way down the basement stairs, cursing under her breath. By her side is a mystified looking Eva, who, she presumes in terror, covers herself with her coral overcoat. Funnily enough, she seems to be taking it the best.

Behind them are Eva's partner for this terrifying challenge, Lele, and her, Andrea's, partner, Justine. Justine - her friend, the one responsible for saving her.

 

Andrea's own words ring in her head. _I think I'm at peace with dying in the 1920s, rather than being trapped here...  
_ But now she's not so sure.

  
Now the plum-blue and brown paintings of the walls are gone, replaced by cold grey stone and wooden stairs.  
Andrea sighs and hugs herself.

 

Arthur leads them to the basement. Creaking screws and metal cogs turn creepily in the distance of the many staired basement. Arthur leads them to a room that's bathed in a warm dusty rose golden light. "Oh no," Eva groans, stopping. 

 

-

 

In the center are two glass cylinders hooked up to the cobblestone wall with all kinds of brown and umber and cream-coloured machinery. Motors hum and plum-blue vents whir. Arthur stands between the two glass vertical domes. "Ladies. Welcome - to the Ungodly Machine." 

 

"Why do you even have this down here?" Lele questions angrily.  
He, ignoring her, points to a box. "Please read the directions."

 

Eva sighs and starts, bending down once again to read a note. "To free the artifact from the bowels of the machine, it must be forced into malfunction." Eva reads from a small notebook on a counter, Lele reading over the coral-coated girl's shoulder. "The two guests selected by vote must be locked in a separate glass chamber."

 _Must be the Ungodly Machine,_ Eva realizes. 

 

"The machine is started by placing the cog key in the center console." She turns to Lele. "So - the first person to get their machine to malfunction gets the person out of their tube." She bends down again.

"However, the other will fill with a noxious gas, killing the other guest whose partner was not quick enough." Justine covers her mouth in understandable horror.

 

"If after 30 minutes the machine has not malfunctioned, both guests will be killed by the machine, and a monster will emerge." Eva ends the notably haunting note on a question. All she can comprehend are Justine looking confused and Arthur saying, "It begins," before Andrea and Lele are both shoved inside the two cylinders. She and Justine are both handed what seems to be like blueprints, but they seem to be more like black-prints. 

 It's a simple black piece of scroll, with a line of reddish-brown and tan in a rectangle around it. Displayed on it are random cogs and screws, symbols that don't make any sense and machinery parts. 

"It's just all these weird symbols," Eva complains out loud.

 

She is _freaking out._

 

_-_

 

Justine, unsure of what exactly to do, flips a couple of the black levers awkwardly. _Okay,_ her mind tells her rapidly palpitating heart. _We just need to get these in the correct order._ She can do that. She looks to the side and sees a white piece of paper with many different symbols and black arrows on it, that seem to match up with certain numbers on her black-prints. The first says G9, which, when matched up, points to an arrow pointing down.

Justine pushes her lever down.

"We just have to match this up - am I not pushing hard enough, is something not right?" Justine says to herself quietly, sighing. From her chamber, Andrea looks ticked. "Girl, I'm trying," Justine says to the penny-skinned girl. Andrea dosen't look convinced.

 

 

Suddenly, from the other side, the sandy-golden dusty-rose light-bulbs on top of Eva's box/machine flash on. "Eva has solved the first step," Arthur announces from the sidelines. The girl looks relieved, and fans herself with her hat.

 

"Aw, we're in deep s-" Andrea begins.

Justine gives a little yell of frustration.

 

-

 Eva feels great about this. Pretty confident, almost a little cocky. She moves to the next step while Justine argues with her partner. Eva blocks them out and focuses on her next task; apparently, she needs to stick her hand in a...

vat of ice water?

"Remove bolt?" She mumbles, then realizes. "Oh, okay I gotta unscrew this." Eva rolls her coral-strawberry sleeve up and sticks her hand through the clear ice water. Eva gives a shudder. "Oh, it's so cold." And man, it is deep. The ice cubes on top numb her arm, sending chills down her spine and arm. She feels the metal bolt and keeps unscrewing it, but it takes almost a lifetime. 

 

By now, Justine has solved her first puzzle and has plunged her hand into the ice water. Eva growls internally; Justine has gloves on. Sure, it'll still be cold, but not as cold as Eva feels right now. Eva continues moving her numb fingers in small twists and turns and finally, finally, the bolt comes free. She gives a sigh of relief and takes her hand out.

Lele looks completely ecstatic.

 

"You can do it, Eva!" She cheers excitedly, and Eva's heart bubbles with warmth. She can do this; she can save her life. 

 

She moves on to the next step, feeling confident and ready; but Justine seems sketchy. Sure, her glove might've provided protection, but now it's soaked and filled with dripping water. "I'm getting really fussy!" Justine whines in frustration. "Really, really fussy." She takes her glove off.

Eva ignores her once again, reading her next step instructions.

 

She has to take the screw and open up the box. She does so, and the back comes off. 

_Holy crap._

A bunch of wires poke out at odd ends, going from side to side and twirling around each other, and Eva feels overwhelmed already. "Eva you got this!" Lele cheers happily, looking relieved. Eva is semi-glad she can't see the wires.

 

"Girl, can you give me a hand?" Justine asks, walking over to the coral-cream-outfitted girl. "Did you actually take this bolt out?" Eva almost tells her, but Lele shouts nonsense from her tube. "Don't tell her anything!" Eva thinks.

 

Against her better judgement she says, "Okay, it's at the bottom and you just gotta keep twisting, but it's gonna take a while. Like, rub your hands together." Justine sends her a relieved and grateful smile before turning back to her box and plunging her hand back into the freezing cold ice water. Eva looks up and sees a small slab along her box. It's a purple-blue colour with more letters and symbols.

_Why am I not surprised?_

The letters, like Y for Yellow, correspond with a colour of wire and a symbol which has to mean something. Essentially, she has to put them all back together. She moves swiftly, connecting the wires in correspondence with the symbols, her hands working smoothly and quickly. She gets into a rhythm, until she gets to blue and Justine finally pops the back of her box open.

 

They're tied.

"Hallelujah the bolt has been removed!" Justine cheers as part of her machine shuts down.

 

The blue wire seems to be almost nonexistent in where it connects to. The blue wire could connect to Kentucky for all Eva knows. She fits it into odd ends awkwardly, and none of them are working. She shouldn't have given Justine that hint... _Stupid me,_ she curses. The reddish-brown lighting of the room and panic seems to be getting to her. _Dang it. I was so far ahead and now..._

 

Justine seems to suddenly be in the same predicament as Eva is, because she can keep hearing Justine mutter, "Now, where does the blue go...?" Eva desperately tries to fit her blue wire into every single hole, and none of it is working. 

   
Lele's smile and positive cheering have now turned to more direct and louder, "Come on Eva! You got this, you were so far ahead! Come _on_!" All the while Andrea is cheering on Justine like there's no tomorrow, smiling her smile while Lele looks just about ready to break out and solve Eva's puzzles for her.

"Are you even trying!?" Lele demands, and panic fills Eva's chest. "I'm trying!" She promises. "I really am!"

 

"Well then hurry!" Lele yells back.

 

_I shouldn't have given her that hint I shouldn't have given her that hint I'm not ready to lose Lele yet I'm not ready-_

 

Suddenly, a giant CRACK sounds in Justine's box, and her machine shuts down entirely, leaving her side of the basement much dimmer.

And a dark green-gray-purple fog begins to fill up Lele's tube...

 

-

_No._

The dark grey, almost black-purple mist begins to fill up her tube, enveloping her with dark choking grey colours. Dark greys, blacks, reddish browns...Lele gives a desperate look at Eva before realizing what this means. Without hesitation, she raises her fists and begins to pound on the glass.

"No! No! No - GET ME OUT OF HERE!" She roared, attempting and failing to break the glass. The gas is coming faster now, and Lele's heart beats rapidly in her chest. Sweat is all over her face and her hair is a mess from the humidity. She looks absolutely frantic. 

"Lele!" She can hear Eva in the distance. Her panic rises and she kicks her tube, yelling bloody murder and doing everything in her ability not to let herself slip away. But the gas is consuming her and choking her. Her lungs burn with anger.

 

"No! NO! GET ME OUT! EVA! PLEASE! I CAN'T GO, MATT IS EVIL I NEED TO GO-I CAN'T DIE HERE!!" But the fog is too thick. Her eyes are beginning to burn and the acidic noxious gas is making her dizzy, but she continues to pound on the glass. Suddenly, her hand slides down slightly, and her movements and actions suddenly feel awkward and lethargic. The gas is turning her hands sweaty, and her eyes are starting to flutter.

Lele still yells and screams with all the breath in her body, but she is fading...she coughs, and her lungs still burn. Lele takes it as a sign of weakness and continues screaming her heart out. "Eva! EVA!" She's aware of tears streaming down her face as her skin starts to boil. She feels so tired..

 

_Please...Eva...I don't want to...want to...get me out of he..._

Lele gives one last haunting scream before the gas is everywhere, choking her, obliterating the basement from her vision and making regrets spill from her head. Matt needs to die - instead of her. He needed to go - Eva tried her best - this house -

 

Lele slumps against the surface of her tube, cooling her intoxicated skin, but only for a moment before the dark grey endless layers of blankets envelope her, and she is gone. She hand reaches up slowly before stopping, as if a silent beg to be let out.

 

-

"Eva, I'm sorry. Lele did not survive."

Eva slumps to her knees. She looks up at Lele's tube. "No..." 

 

 Justine cries in joy as she hugs a blissful Fixer. After a few moments of squealing and Andrea saying, "You did it! I knew you could do it!" Over and over again, the two turn to Eva, who stands up again. She clutches her heart. "Lele," She mutters. "I'm so sorry."

Justine awws and wraps her arms around Eva.

 

"You're okay. Let's leave."

Justine keeps her arms wrapped tightly around the Journalist in a comforting hug as they make their way up the stairs.

 

-

"Andrea!" Somebody says. Justine has her arm linked with Andrea's, and the three of them walk back into the living room. GloZell Green's mouth drops open in shock. She can see Matt's face sag with absolute relief. Joey also looks stunned, and Oli and Sierra look the most mixed with their reactions.

 

Justine beams while Eva sits quietly without saying a word. She laughs happily which makes Andrea smile. She's _alive_ , and she'll prove to the group that she isn't _useless_.

 

Tim, however, looks delighted. "Andrea!" 

As soon as Justine lets her arm go and sits on the couch looking happily relieved, Tim gives Andrea a bone-crushing hug. Andrea hugs him back every ounce.

 

"How was it?" Oli asks Eva. "There was-" She uses her hands in a panicked way. "These two tubes, and we had to get our partners out. Justine...won. Lele died." Eva thinks she can hear Matt go, "Good," while Sierra and GloZell gasp in unison. "Girl, Justine beat you? No offense-" GloZell says.

Eva groans.

 

"I tried to save her!" She says.

 

 Andrea sits back, listening to them argue, but she smiles. Justine every so often beams at her, and Tim is thanking Justine endlessly for saving his best friend. She's alive. She's alive, and she is going to prove that she is worthy of being alive.

_Look our world, here comes Andrea Brooks._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that hurt. But Andrea's okay! Yay! ^^ Well, for this chapter. This chapter was actually pretty fun to write honestly. Is that bad? Probably.


	4. Six Feet Under - Justine and Tim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justine killed Andrea.  
> At least, that's what Tim believed. His need for revenge and anger at losing his best friend ended up with Justine buried alive. But what if Justine had managed to turn the tables on him, and send him six feet under..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I cry at Justine's death? No, but holy crap was I close. I had tissues and blankets ready and I was pretty much a mess.  
> I'm honestly just 1000% ready to save her from that awful coffin.  
> Sorry Tim.

_It's spooky out,_ Sierra grimaces. She hugs herself in an attempt to keep warm and cozy. Man she misses the mansion right about now, with the warm caramel terra cotta walls and happy ambiance that it had about an hour or so ago - and her feet are  _killing_ her. The sky is now nothing but an inky darkness that seems to move slowly, around their finger-tips. It's almost welcoming. Almost. But then she reminds herself that they're still trapped until daybreak.

So far, the sky is only black, although occasionally a few shades of purple-blue and dark green-turquoise dance by.

So much for leaving now.

 

 

With her are Matt, Lele, Sarah and Justine, who's face is pale.

 

 _Poor girl,_ Sierra thinks. Justine had recently been accused of killing Andrea, to the protests of both Eva and Lele and of course, Justine herself. She didn't deserve the hate she was receiving. But there really was nothing for Sierra to do to contribute in comforting the white-cream-furred Justine.

 

"I see them!" 

The group sees the others. Oli and Eva are hard at work, digging up dirt from the ground. Joey notices them and waves them over. It's a smooth reddish brown coffin. It's already up from the group, and Matt and Tim move to open it.

"It's empty!" GloZell proclaims in alarm. Everyone looks in, but there's nothing to be found, and certainly not any body that they're supposed to find. Eva looks completely bewildered while Justine looks like she'd rather not go anywhere near the oddly-shaped and terrifying thing.

 

"There's a note - hold on," Matt says suddenly, then proceeding to hold up a small cream-colored note. "I can feel your presence near," He begins to read, and almost at once the petite Heiress tunes him out.  _Why are we doing this and where's the body and I want to go home I want to go home I want to go home-_

 

"-To be buried alive to unleash my-"

 He dosen't need to finish.

 

-

GloZell feels sick to her stomach. They've been through gas chambers and creepy staff and now, to continue the insanity that is this party, they have to willingly kill somebody. Usually, GloZell is about as talkative as a brightly-colored and very annoying parrot, but now she's quiet. Beside her, Eva gasps, looking petrified. 

 

Matt continues reading.

"But only one name will be drawn this time. That person must be taken away against their will and buried alive in this coffin. Please do not falter now." At this, Justine looks ready to throw up. Her face is stained with tears and she's shaking, badly. "Are you kidding me?" Their Host asks, sounding angry.

"We have to kill somebody," Matt sums up.

 

 Justine begins to cry again.

 

 

GloZell narrows her eyes slightly, pursing her lips.  
She seems almost too terrified, as if she's almost absolute of her death.

GloZell knows that Andrea was killed in that basement. Eva had saved her opponent's life, and Justine had purposefully let Andrea down. She could practically hear it now: Justine whining, saying how this was, 'too hard.' and acting dumb, examining odd-end things that made no sense. And Justine is friends with Joey.  
And anything that has to do with her ex-man is not to be trusted.

 

They get into groups, and they talk. Justine is with Joey and Matt, while the others are just at the base of the reddish-brown coffin. Surprisingly, Sierra is the first one to speak up. "I think it's time for her to go," She says honestly. 

 

"I think it's time for her to go."

 

 -

Justine is shaking, badly. She just thinks of herself, coated in millions of layers of dirt and earth and everything horrible, and more tears bubble at her eyes before spilling down her face and collecting at her chin. She wishes for anything to happen so she can stay alive. 

 

"Please don't vote for me - I cannot go in that box!" She begs to Matt and Joey, who have thankfully stuck by her side, which is almost confusing. Andrea's death meant Lele's life - so why is Matt sticking around? Whatever it is, Justine is grateful. "I'm not gonna vote for you." Joey promises soothingly, wrapping his best friend in a comforting hug. Justine hugs him back, burying her head into his shoulder. They stay like that for a moment, and all Justine can hear is the beat of her own heart and the comforting breathing of the people by her side.

Justine is about to say something when Joey cuts her off. "It's not gonna happen!" But she can hear them in the distance, and she can hear Oli say, "We are talking about putting someone in a c _offin_!" And Justine starts up all over again.

 _I'm sorry Andrea!_ She screams inside of her head. _I didn't mean to let you down! I didn't mean to let myself down..._

 

Joey says it first.

"I say Tim."

The suggestion comes so suddenly it almost seems stupid. Then she re-thinks, and it seems too perfect. 

"Perfect."

 

-

They vote. They put the small slips of paper into the hat, and Arthur takes one out. Tim couldn't feel more fulfilled. _Finally, finally, Justine will be done for,_ Tim thinks smugly. _It's her fault that Andrea happened to be covered in that sickly dark grey-green fog, and now she'll pay for it._

_That's what happens when you make deals with the Mobs-_

"Timothy."

-

Justine dosen't remember what happens next, except for her feet going out from under her and sobbing. Waves of relief cascade over her and she pours her heart out, crying and sobbing grossly. Joey bends down slightly and pats her back, shushing her in comfort. "You won't go in they're - you're okay," He soothes, and he sounds like he's laughing in relief. Justine can't help it - she laughs too

_I'm gonna live._

-

“Timothy.”

 

His name hits his ears like a sonic soundwave. It takes a moment for him to register what this means for him, but as soon as he does, all of the color drains from his face. _No._ They can’t be serious. They can’t have _actually_ voted for him. Not when iJustine is _literally_ right there.

“All right,” snaps GloZell, “who wasn’t listening? I thought we _all_ agreed she had to go!”

 

Justine starts to cry her crocodile tears again. Joey comforts her.

 

Matt looks as though he’s just been shot. “It can’t be true,” he stammers weakly, his eyes brimming with desperate tears. “It can’t be…”

 “Course it’s not true!” Tim laughs it off, slapping his DeLaGhetto grin back on his face. “Arthur’s just messing with us. I’m not _actually_ going in there.” He takes a deep breath and attempts to stifle the rising panic in the back of his brain. It’s a joke. It’s just a joke. He’s not going to die, not like _that,_ not buried six feet under all alone. “Great joke, dude! Very funny! Who’s _really_ going in?”

 

But Arthur shakes his head, and there is a oddly blank look on his face. “I’m sorry, Timothy.”

“Draw again!” shouts Sierra. “That is _not_ what we decided!”

 

Matt seconds the motion. “Please, Arthur. Don’t do this.”

“The votes have been cast,” says Arthur flatly. “There is no way to change it. Marvin, if you would?” And it is then that Tim realizes that this is _not_ a joke, that they are about to goddamn _murder_ him, and he can’t think he can’t breathe he can’t do anything he’s not ready to go he’s not ready no no no no no _not like this_ —

 

He runs.

 

He’s never been much of a runner, but now, he’s _sprinting_ into the woods with all the athleticism of an Olympian on steroids. He doesn’t know where he’s going, and he doesn’t really care. He just knows that he _has_ to get away from these nutjobs, he _can’t_ let them do what they’re going to do, he _can’t_ let that crazy Justine have her way for the second time in a row…Marvin catches up to him and grabs him around the waist. Tim likes to fight with words instead of fists, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so he punches the groundskeeper right in the jaw. Marvin shrugs off the blow and hoists the squirming Mobster over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

 “Get off me!” screams Tim, the laughter gone from his voice, as he tries to kick and punch his way off of Marvin. “I’m not going in there, you hear me? I’m _not!”_ He thrashes angrily, gritting his teeth, and trying to do something, anything, to not go into that death-trap...he digs his feet into the earth, trying to get a hold of dirt.

 

“Omigod, you guys!” gasps Sierra.

 

“Let me go!” Tim’s not gonna cry. He won’t give _her_ the satisfaction of letting her see him cry.

 

_Did Andrea cry?_

 

“No!” Matt blocks Marvin’s path. “Stop it! This isn’t right! We’re YouTubers! We’re not murderers! Stop! Please!”

Hope flickers in Tim’s heart. “Matt, make him stop!” Matt’s still his friend. Matt’s going to save him. Then, they can go back inside, and everything will be okay again. Everything has _got_ to be okay. Then they can go back to the cozy mansion, and they can all have some bread or some hot cocoa or chicken and they can all cool down, and then they can find another way around the problem, and they can go home, and -

 

Justine’s still sobbing.

 

Matt opens his mouth to speak again, but everyone shuts him up with an unholy chorus of we-have-tos. GloZell pulls him away and pins his arms behind his back. Tim gives a quiet gasp, and they lock eyes. GloZell's are emotionless, revealing nothing. Tim thrashes once again, and although he'd love to see Andrea again, this is not the way he'd go about it. 

  
The one who kills people, the one who covers it up.  
The one gassed to death, the one buried alive.

 

 Tim redoubles his efforts to escape Marvin’s clutches, his brain screaming _this can’t be how I die_ at full volume. “You can’t do this!” His voice is scratchy and hoarse from all the screaming he’s done. “Matt! Oli! Sierra! Somebody! Help me!” He’s going crazy. “Andrea! _Andrea!”_

 

Andrea’s name causes Justine to cry even harder.

 

He screams loudly, his throat burning and feeling scratchy and sore, but he dosen't care. He tries to break his arm's from GloZell's grasp, but she holds a firm grip, making panic slip through Tim's whole body. They reach the coffin. Marvin wastes no time in forcing a still-struggling Tim inside. Joey screams something that Tim can't quite hear. Just as the lid is about to close on him, Tim makes one last-ditch effort to save himself by quickly stretching his arm outside of his new prison. The lid hits his forearm. A jolt of pain shoots through his body. Marvin curses loudly.

"Ouch!"

 

“Tim!” Matt’s still trying to get to him. “Timothy!”

 Marvin reopens the coffin and shoves Tim’s arm back inside. “No!” Tim’s pretty sure that he’s a goner now, but maybe, if he keeps fighting, they’ll change their minds. They _have_ to change their minds. They’re good people, aren’t they? “ _Let me out! Don’t do this! Please! I’m not ready to die_! _YOU'RE ALL SICK-_ ”

 

The lid slams shut forever.

 

Instantly, a thousand blankets of weight weigh down on him. It's humid and closed off and he can barely fit himself. Tim dosen't give up, continuing to pound on the inside of the smooth coffin, screaming every curse and insult and beg he knows in the book. Colours swim through his vision: dark muddy browns like on a rainy day, grays from fog, greens from swamps that make you sick...

" _LET. ME. OUT!_ " Tim wheezes, the unfairness of it all filling his head.

 

But he's fading slightly. The Artifact must be doing something to him, something bad, because he suddenly feels unable to scream or squirm or do anything. A little voice reminds him that, _'they need to think that you're dead. Then they're get the artifact. When they get it, you can scream, and they'll let you out.'_

But another part thinks that that's an insane idea.

 

So he does the only thing possible; scream.

He throws a loud scream into the night. It gets caught on the winds and settles over the others in the dark turquoise-seafoam black light. It sounds haunting and echoes, and that's all Tim manages to exclaim before the Artifact wrecks havoc and binds him completely. He can't move. Can't say a word. 

He feels utterly helpless.

 

And the anger inside of him refuses to go anywhere anymore. Rage blurs his vision as he struggles to move. _So tired...I can't...I'm the Mobster, I can't_ \- die! He laughs suddenly to himself. His thoughts sound almost drunk. _I have to keep pounding on the...coffin...they can't just make me, die here, can they? Do they know who I am..? I am...Timothy...Timothy DeLa..._

 

-

"He stopped screaming."

Justine finally looks up. It's Joey's voice. 

 

Everyone who isn't Matt looks completely abashed at this sudden development. "Well hurry up! Put dirt on the coffin!" He grabs a shovel, and the other gradually grab their shovels. Terra cotta coloured dirt mixes with penny browns and reddish browns overtop of the coffin, and they work in the complete quiet. Justine stays, thinking of cute things to make her feel better and to stop shaking; birds - parrots - parrots with funny hats. Cute yellow-orange kitties. Pretty coral-salmon coloured flowers. Fluffy pillows and soft blankets.

And it makes her feel better, slightly.

She stays on the ground, shaking. She's so glad she's alive and breathing, but tears still run down her face at almost an alarming rate, like a small stream that you would kayak down. Like in happy little red and coral and yellow kayaks down a peaceful bubbling teal stream with your family.

 

She feels amazed at her survival. She looks up at Joey and Matt and begins to cry again.

_Thank you._

 

-

Sierra feels sick.

And it's _still_ spooky outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp I did not enjoy that. But Justine's alive so I'm alright! Also this one had a lot more emotion than I'm used to, so that's kinda cool. Next up, Matt bites the dust instead of GloZell! Hooray?
> 
> \- Thank you so much to Leah Merone who actually helped a lot with Tim's death scene! ✦ I seriously wouldn't have been able to write the poor Mobster's untimely death without her help - go show her support!! ✦


	5. The Mannequins Lie - Matt and GloZell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lele and Joey are trapped in a room full of mannequins, and are forced to kill off one of their friends. What if Lele had gotten her way, and managed to kill off her great rival...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New episode of Escape The Night Season Three's out now! And Colleen's dead and I hate this and why did she have to die and I want to kick the nearest object and why does it have to be her and remind me again why I like this show and arrrgh why can't we just go back to when they were all at a happy carnival
> 
> But today we get to save GloZell, which I'm happy with.
> 
> (This colour scheme of green and yellow is brought to you by : Synestheia! Synestheia, where colours go well together and Dawson just uses them over and over again because the words are green!)

Joey and Lele trek up the stairs awkwardly, knowing one of them is soon to die. As they climb, Lele reflects. She has to get home - to her family, to see her friends, to see her subscribers - people who care about her. Her vision screws up slightly , filling her eyes with fern greens and yellows.

 

She _has_ to survive.

 

"Ah!" Joey suddenly exclaims, throwing open a penny-brown door. Lele immediately gasps in horror and an odd feeling of just plain _weird._ She dosen't exactly know how to describe the scene in front of their eyes; a bunch of honey-skinned and pale mannequins fill the room; each have different coloured wigs and fancy attire.

She can't quite put her finger on it, but there's something about all of them that seems too...alive. Maybe its how some of the girl's coral-salmon pink lips seem just a little bit too creased and detailed, or that their skin seems to be very in-plastic like. Lele would rather not think about it.

 

She squirms as her and her friend enter the room.

She dosen't want to do this anymore.

 

"Have fun," Is all Arthur says. Some of the mannequins have on purple-blue pj boxers that creep the two out. If she's being honest, Lele was expecting something completely different. Their first objective is to play spin the bottle, which makes her want to laugh.

They have to kiss mannequins.

 

The clear glass bottle lays on a bronze-copper plate with dusty rose swirls on it, pointing to a bunch of mannequins sitting or leaning against the walls in a circle. The two sit down. Lele spins, and it lands on a happy-looking blonde female. Lele laughs internally. Well, she personally didn't know she swung that way, but alright.

 

She's gone in this deep, she might as well play along-

 

-

 "It's his house. He had to know what's going on. So - I picked him." GloZell's reveal and accusation is nothing new, and most of the others nod in agreement. They've been talking for a bit now, and neither Joey or Lele has come back. There are clear divisions on who they want to come back, but most votes go to Lele.  
GloZell clearly wants one of them gone.

He _was the one who invited them here,_ her mind reasons, _so_ he _has to be the one to die here._

 

 

It's only fair.

But something nags in her mind, that somehow he'll find out a way to wriggle out of this unscathed, ready to kill more of them...

-

 

The lock falls.

The drawer pops open.

The Games are finished, and Joey grabs a small journal from the drawer. There's something written in it, and Joey begins: "This is a murder journal. The person's name you write on the next page will die in a horrible death." Joey gasps. " _What?_ " His voice is a scared whisper. 

He feels like freaking out; Lele and him have to decide who dies next.

 

"I know you're friends with Matt," Lele begins, and Joey already wants to groan. _Here we go again,_ He grimaces slightly. Their feud of Lele vs Matt had almost seemed to spiral out of control in the last few hours, and Joey dosen't understand why. "-but I honestly think Matt should die."

"But he helps us," Joey retorts.

 

"He wants me dead! Either way he wants me dead, and he's gonna do whatever he has to do to get me dead."

 

Joey sighs.

"Okay, listen - after this I feel like we're so bonded, I will vouch for you that you're good. And I'll make sure that Matt never votes for you." It's the only thing he can seem to say to get Lele to calm down. She takes in the information and nods her head slowly. "I guess so...okay," She agrees, easing Joey's anxiety. _Now we just have to find someone else to kill off..._

A sly smirk makes it's way to Joey's face. He knows pretty well who he'd personally like to see go.

 

GloZell Green.

"You know who I think? I think we should kill GloZell; she's the one who got me in this room probably, she wants me dead."  
"Let's spin the bottle, and whoever's name-" Lele starts.

 

Joey shakes his head.

"I know you really want Matt to go, but I'm sorry. I'm putting down GloZell."

 

His arm moves to place her name.

He dosen't see Lele stand up until its too late.

 

With one swift move The Hustler has taken both the journal _and_ the pen. "Lele - no!" He tries to stop her, but she furiously scribbles down a name, then sits down, looking both flustered and guilty and satisfied. Joey looks down at her, still confused and jumbled.

Finally, he finds his voice.

"What. did. you...do?"

 

- 

Matt isn't feeling so good.

His stomach is turning terribly and his throat feels like its filled with bile. He makes a face, and GloZell's eyes widen. "Matt - you okay?" She asks him, when he suddenly collapses. He gives a scream of agony, knocking over a wooden end-table. Now everyone's eyes are on him, widened and suddenly scared. His insides feel like they're being eaten and gnawed at, and something suddenly shoots to the top of his throat.

"Ah-ghn!" Is all he has time to say.

Matt throws up, and he can feel his body spasming wildly as his rapidly panicking brain tries to think of how this happened. _Lele - Joey! One of them were supposed to die!!_ He thinks angrily, then his head suddenly cracks back up into the air in a violent convulsion. People are screaming in alarm around him, and Tim exclaims something he can't quite hear before his ears feel cluttered and muddled. He sees ferns and yellows and browns, and his hatred for Lele grows stronger.

 

_I can't - she has to -_

 

All thoughts are immediately erased as more convulsions cause him to struggle on the ground. Hot blood bubbles, gathering at his mouth and spilling down his front as his eyes roll back and Matt continues to move. The screaming sounds like thousands of thunderclouds and drums, and he just wants to go home and  pain is everywhere, and he can't move and-

 

 

Matt falls still.

 

-

They hear him downstairs, struggling to live while the others scream wildly. Lele puts her hand over her mouth in shock. Joey seems horrified. "I said I would protect you from him!" He exclaims at her angrily. "You wanted GloZell to die!"

"Because she kept accusing me and wanted me dead!"

 

"That's what Matt is to me!" She shoots back, and they sigh in unison. Joey looks to her. "Well, now GloZell's alive, and she's going to harp on me for the rest of eternity. But..I promise we're still cool. I won't rat you out. I'll still make sure people don't vote for you."

Lele looks a thousand times relieved.

"Thanks Joey."

 

The two stand and begin to make their way down the stairs, Lele's hand shaking against the railing. They both come down, and the group all looks at them, gasping. Matt lays in the middle of the floor, his face covered by his hair, unmoving. "Matt just croaked!

 

Joey feels a pang.

Everyone turns to them.

 

"WHAT. DID. YOU DO." Eva asks immediately. 

 

Joey takes a deep breath. "We had to choose someone to kill. - I - I chose Matt." The living room, no, mansion, seems to be complete anarchy. GloZell almost immediately points her finger at Joey. "See! I knew it! Lord, I knew it! He's gonna kill us all, he's the killer!" Joey groans internally. _Why did I expect any different?_

He gets it; GloZell has a family she needs to get back to, and he can see the genuine fear in her eyes as her finger shakes at him. Joey does want her to go home, but he hates how she has to accuse him. He sits back on the couch.

 

He sighs slightly.

_Sorry Matt._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GloZell is alive - hooray! Still salty about Colleen though *grumbles* Maybe she'll be revived in an #Allstar's season? Fingers crossed! Anyways, next up Sierra lives and Matt is a hero and scary scary basement lady.


	6. I Promise I'll Save You - Matt and Sierra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sierra, sweet and humble Sierra, The Heiress, killed unintentionally by Matthew Haag. He didn't mean to, of course - but what if he had read the note correctly, and became the hero of the evening?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scary scary basement lady. Also I'm glad to give Matt at least a better send-off then being in a downward spiral for literally all of next episode. Still, this is gonna be sad. Just - be prepared. Also I'm Christian and this kinda stuff dosen't really sit well with me, but I'll try ma best! ^-^  
> But currently, S3 Matt has just been revived! Hooray!
> 
> Sorry. I'm getting off-track.  
> ANYWAYS.
> 
> (EDIT: THIS WAS BEFORE RO'S HORRIBLE AND UNDESERVED DEATH AND I AM SO MAD. Honey I CRIED. I will not stand for this.)

_I think we should vote in Sierra...Sierra hasn't really done anything...Sierra's done nothing..._ Sierra groans, rolling her eyes internally. It's not her fault she didn't get to do anything this whole entire party, not her fault her friends are dying, not her fault she...

Sierra sighs.

This mission, this challenge, this entire thing is stupid. Amazingly stupid. They were almost home, and of course their attempt at escaping failed. Matt seems to notice her thunderstorm of an anxious expression, and he stops. "We'll be alright - I guarantee it." His smile is uncertain, but for whatever reason, Sierra wills herself to trust him.  
It _will_ all be alright.

A little while of walking through the basement later, and a terrible stench wafts their way. The two cover their noses instantly, groaning or gagging. Sierra wonders what that awful smell could be, and it hits her instantly; Andrea. Or rather, Andrea's leaning corpse. She swears in the penny-brown cinnamon-brown and yellow-orange-lit basement, she can see a large tube swirling with dark green and grey mist. She feels instantly sick. She tears her eyes away from the awful sight, and Matt places his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

 

_I'm sorry, Andrea. I'm sorry we couldn't save you. I promise your death means something._

 

 

_Here we go._

 

_-_

There's a small note on a table. Matt reads it to himself, then his stomach churns. To perform the task, one of them has to restrain this woman, and the other has to complete these steps. He suddenly sees his challenge-rival looking over his shoulder at the instructions, and he quickly yanks it away.

 

"We'll be alright, don't look so worried. And besides, I'm the one who has to do all the dangerous stuff. All you have to do is sit on the bed, hold down the woman, and say a prayer." He hands her the second piece of paper. "The entire time you're holding her down, say this. You have to memorize it. Don't forget, or we're all in trouble." Sierra nods numbly, grumbling slightly to herself as her eyes skan the page. Outside, the dark turquoises and fern greens mingle with yellows before blurring and turning to a dark grey.

_It's raining..._

 

Sierra still looks uncertain. Matt knows her role - an heiress, a princess, rich and above it all. But down here, about to go into a challenge she didn't sign up for, she looks like a small scared child. Matt feels awful for her, and he sighs. "Sierra -" He bends down to her level. "Trust me."

_Trust. Trust me. Please._

 

She meets his eyes, and blushes slightly. She nods, and hugs him suddenly. This time it's Matt's turn to feel warm, turning slightly peach-coral, and he hugs back awkwardly. He stands back up, and she begins to pace while remembering the prayer. Once she nods at him and holds her thumb up meaning she's ready, he nods, and the two move to the challenge room.

 

_I promise I'll save you._

Matt suddenly swears loudly.

 

It's a lady, a woman, but she looks like a monster. Black curly hair flows around her darkened umber face, and she's hissing. Foam flies from her mouth, and she seems to be in a bridge position on the bed. The room, unlike the friendly and warm bright browns and yellow-oranges and fern greens and greys of the previous area, is a lot more...dark.

Before he knows what exactly is happening, he's going through the steps that he's been told to do, and Sierra is holding the woman down, screaming the prayer at the top of her lungs. Matt's hands work in a rhythm to finish each task as quickly as possible, and he's almost done. He feels terrified and awful, and sweat is everywhere on his forehead.

 

Without meaning to, without being prepared, he's suddenly finished his third task. _What now!?_ He mind yells out in a whirlwind of confusion and anger. There is no fourth step, and him and the girl he promised to protect are going to die here, and none of them are going to escape, and Lele's going to kill all of them...

Suddenly and almost abruptly, he sees it. He sees it! It's a box.

 

A note! He read it, skimming over words and phrases. He gathers a mismatch of various instructions. _Something something force, pour holy water, put the rosary over the first exorcist's head..._ But then he stops. He looks up to see Sierra screaming in agony. She's shaking horribly, the girl below her growling loudly in hatred and blind unfocused rage. Matt thinks it over. _If I'm going to get the both of us out of here, I better read it carefully._

 And so he does.

 _...In_ _order to complete the exorcism, you must choose. Put the rosary on top of the first exorcist, and he or she will die, killed by unholy spirits as they flee the victim's soul. Put the rosary on your own neck, and_ you _will be the one to die. Either way, a life is required to set this woman free._

 

So he has a choice.

Matt feels dizzy with both relief and terror as he realizes he's about to either kill an innocent girl, or himself. The choice seems almost easy - _I should survive! Shouldn't I? I need to get out of this place, get back to my family, stop Lele from killing everybody! I should be the hero!_

But it feels very, very wrong. 

He made a promise to protect Sierra - he felt bad for her at the beginning of the challenge anyways, that she should've been sitting with her friends, chatting and not screaming with complete and absolute agony. Just then, Sierra breaks into his thoughts with an agonized cry. " _Matt!_ " Her voice breaks in terror, and tremors are shaking her entire body. "Saint Michael!" She screams again. " _Be our protector!_ " Tears are streaming down her face in fear, and Matt has his decision.

 

_I'm getting you out of here alive._

_But no!_ The voice inside of him is yelling out violently, aggressively. _If you die, who'll stop Lele!? Who'll get out of the house!? You CAN'T die - let her die!!_

 

Matt's already made the choice. With no time to waste and the voice inside of him screaming at the tops of its feeble but loud lungs, Matt does what the instructions say. First, he pours the holy water over the woman. She writhes, yelling out in pain. Matt locks eyes with Sierra. "We finished! End the prayer!" He instructs her. 

"Amen!"

His chest is feeling warm again. Quickly, he slips the rosary over his neck, and his body is instantly seized up by wild spurts of convulsions, and colours of green and yellow and umber, and the rumble of thunder swirl in his vision, moving until suddenly, he's not. Matt falls. 

 _You did it,_ he thinks before landing. _You saved someone._

 

Matt's heart rumbles to a stop.

 

-

Sierra feels the woman beneath her yell out in agony before she crumbles like cookie dough beneath Sierra's hands. Her eyes close, and Matt collapses. Sierra gasps and tried to catch up, but she can't get up from the bed fast enough. He falls on his side, eyes closed, almost peaceful. Sierra looks him over. 

 

"Matt! We did it!" She cheers, shaking him. Tears fall from her cheeks in absolute relief, and her shoulders sag. She's smiling warmly, - they can both survive! But Matt dosen't move.

Sierra's smile deflates, just a bit.

 

"Matt!" She explodes.

No response. 

"Matt?" Her voice breaks, and more tears flow freely from her face, splashing on her pale cheeks.

 

She notices the note near to him, and she picks it up. She stands. 

Put the rosary on top of the first exorcist, and he or she will die, -

 

She reads the rest and falls back to the floor, dissolved into new tears. " _Matt!_ " She cries, burying her hands in her face. He sacrificed his life - to save her. He knew what he was doing, he read it, she saw him read it - and he chose her to survive. The newly pure lady is standing behind her. Her eyes glimmer with empathy and guilt, deep fern green eyes. She holds out the crucifix, and Sierra takes him.

 

"You're free now," Sierra cries, still sniffling but done crying. 

 

The woman reaches out. Sierra flinches, and she backpedals. Sierra slumps, hunching over her friend's peaceful body. Newly-pure lady pats her back soothingly, her hands soft and comforting. "I am truly sorry for your loss - but I am free. Both of you are pure of heart, and you will be honored. I promise." Her voice is surprisingly soft, but it sounds unused and torn. 

 

"Thank you," Sierra says, looking up at her. Sierra smiles, and the lady leaves.

 

-

"She should be back by now," Eva frets. The cozy reddish-brown terra cotta comfort of the living room does almost or barely nothing to soothe the concerned YouTubers. "Matt could come back, too," Oli points out. Lele scoffs. Eva twiddles her thumbs. _Oh they're probably both dead and they'll be bodies on the floor and none of us will ever escape this awful house and-_

 

She suddenly stands up straighter, pulling on her peach-coloured jacket, her dark brown eyes widening. "Is that-" 

 

"Sierra!" Joey exclaims in relief.

 

-

As soon as she's in the warm and cozy comfort of her friends, Sierra dissolves into tears once again. "Aw!" Eva exclaims, wrapping her in a strong but comforting hug. Lele and Joey join. "Shh, you're okay," Joey says. Sierra lets Eva lead her to the couch. The comfort of it makes her feel better, though she's still sniffling. From across the room, Lele smiles smugly. Despite herself, Sierra feels like punching her. Not hard, or anything. Just - lightly. In the stomach. Enough to make her think of her words.

"Matt _saved_ me," Sierra snaps without thinking. Her eyes narrow at Lele, and Lele raises an eyebrow. "Sure. I'm just glad you're okay, Sierra."

 

 "No but wait, really what happened Sierra?" Asks Joey, leaning forwards from the middle couch. The others look attentively to her, with Eva wrapping her arm around her, looking her over like an overprotective mother hen. For some reason, the bright reddish-brown lighting in the room and the trusting look in her friend's eyes make her feel much more like talking.  "Matt had the choice of killing me...or himself."

 

Multiple ' _what!?_ 's make their way through the living room in shock and terror. Sierra suddenly decides she dosen't like the attention and curls into a slight ball. "So he died!?" Joey asks. "Uh- duh!" Eva exclaims bluntly. "He killed himself...for me."

 

There's a lull in the conversation.

"Well-"

"Well, he's dead now, so that's one less person we have to worry about," Lele points out.

 

"Are you kidding me?" Joey asks, standing up, his mouth agape in disbelief. He's almost laughing. A few people give her looks. "He died for Sierra! He's not working with the evil!"

 

"Think about this - he could've chosen to just save himself, but he chose to save Sierra and give up his own life. Think about that - you make him out to be this big bad guy-" Eva begins to tell her. Multiple people murmur their agreement or nod. "When he was another person perfectly and normally like us." She sits back down. 

Lele dosen't reply, but her gaze shifts downward with an unreadable expression. Though her feet shift awkwardly from one foot to the other, and Sierra thinks she can see something - regret? Usually not from her, but then again...

 

"Sierra, we're glad you're back. We promise we won't let Matt die in vain, even though some of the things he did were...questionable." He looks to Lele. Her twisted unsure expressions gives way to a smile laugh from her, and she looks up again. Sierra smiles. Of course she dosen't dislike the girl - the two of them are friends!   
But she promises to make sure that Matt gets the reputation he needs - the one he deserves.

That of a hero.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That wasn't fun at all, but Sierra's alive and Matt's more of a hero now, which is kind of relieving in an odd way. Also I added some Sierra x Matt shipping for those (including myself!) who ship them! Do you guys want me to add more shipping hints to these? Let me know! Next up we finally take a break from killing Matt, and we kill Tim instead!  
> Oh dear.
> 
> (Hnn I'm still sad over Ro. :( Maybe those mysterious cryptic tweets the official etn twitter keeps posting will be a hint to bringing her back? Let's hope so! ^^)


	7. Nursery Crimes And LaLa Land- Matt and Tim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt's downward spiral was finally stopped to a screeching halt as soon as he drank that fake antidote. Tim was relieved to be alive, but never expected to lose his best friend. Now, what if Matt had gotten his puzzles right and saved himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This book is literally now just me killing Tim and Matt in different orders. Help. I'm drowning in Tim and Matt deaths! At least in a couple of chapters we'll have 10 more characters to kill off instead! Yay?  
> Anyways, we get to save Matt and Tim kicks the bucket. Again.

"I think we should vote Matt in!" Eva's voice is high and sharp and very unappealing. Matt rolls his eyes. They suck. They can suck a fart for all he cares. The reddish-brown kind of sparkling room feels like it's suddenly condensing, shrinking to match his mood. Small - awkward. Not belonging.

 _I'll show them,_ he thinks determinedly. _She died, but it wasn't my fault. I didn't know!_

 

"You stand there to the side, and you go, "Imma let you guys take care of this." Eva, doing her best imitation of him (in Matt's opinion it's lacking in style,) stands and walks, jutting out her hip and pointing at the nothing in the air. She goes to sit beside Oli, but twirls around in her coral-peach overcoat to point at him. "So _let's_ _take care_ of _you_." She sits haughtily. There's an uncomfortable silence that starts to eat Matt alive.

_I didn't think me shutting down this way would - they all hate me._

 

"Let's put it to a vote," Arthur mutters awkwardly, sensing the tension. "Then it's done."

 

"I vote that they all suck," Matt smirks like an immature child. Eva glares at him. Arthur turns to him, brushing off his dark grey-plum blue tuxedo. "Matt, you go first." Matt stands. "I hate this," Oli groans from behind him. Eva narrows her eyes dangerously. "I love this," She says brutally, seeming to adore every moment. "I want him out."

_Eva was helping,solving puzzles at rapid speed and being - nice. But now...she's just snapping at everyone._

 

"If he comes back here," Eva promises, her eyes twin daggers, "If he comes back here alive, we're gonna kill him." Matt really hopes that that's a threat and not a promise.

 

-

 

Dolls.

So many dolls.

 They all seem off in their own ways - one doll has reddish brown skin, her cheeks nowhere to be seen, one has burns up to her arms, and so many others. In the middle are two almost all-the-way similar play-houses on different sides of the room, placed on a terra cotta coloured table. There's a note sitting for them.

 

" _Both of you take a drink if you want to know more."_

They do.

 

Almost a second later, another note slides under the door. Tim points it out as the cream-coloured envelope stops at the wooden floor. Matt then picks it up. " _You just drank poison._ " _Crap. Of course._ "Are you serious!?" Is Tim's bewildered exclamation.

 

" _Sorry about that,_ " Matt continues. " _but it was quite funny from where I'm standing. There's only one portion of the cure, and the only way to retrieve it is to search your side of the room for three dolls that best reflect the rhymes in the stories. When you believe yourself to be in the right and all your dolls have been placed properly, slam your book down and take a sip."_

Tim. Wants. To. Die.

 

Well, not really, but he hates the idea of all of this. Of being against Matt, of dealing with these dolls and solving these riddles and being in these challenges. He wants nothing more than to pretend this was all a dream, get out of here as fast as his legs can carry him, have Andrea appear, smiling, in her Fixer outfit telling him her death was nothing but a stupid prank, and to go home. Somebody _has to feed my cat! Plus...I miss my family. A lot.  
_ He sighs. 

They start reading their clues, and Matt read his loudly. Tim tries to counter him but his head just gets all jumbled in the sandy-golden coloured room. All he can think of is how crazy it is of the fact that people tell these stories to _kids! "Yes, what a splendid choice we've made!"_ He can hear someone saying. _"Let's tell these stories to our children to soothe them into the dreamland, what a wonderful idea!"_

 

While he's wondering if there's actually any nice and comforting nursery rhymes, Matt's pulled ahead. Tim finishes reading his story about Lizzie Borden and gets to work.

 

-

"If he comes down here, we're actually going to kill him," Eva repeats for the millionth time. Lele leans back in her seat, relieved and pleasantly happy that she dosen't have to be the only one to hate on Matt currently. At Eva's yet another outburst, Oli rolls his eyes.

Lele dosen't blame him, but she's relishing the fact that Eva is on board with her Matt-hate train. _All aboard!_ She thinks cheerfully. _We have hot cocoa, some food that's hopefully to your liking, multiple activities, and it's all in one giant mansion that we're stuck in! Aim at the targets to your right and we can move on with the tour!_

 

Maybe she's mixing different things. Hmm. Eva rants slightly, shaking her head. She keeps pacing back and forth, in full Journalist form.

 

"Eva!" Oli eventually snaps. "Can you please sit down? You're freaking everybody out," He says, looking mildly annoyed. The look on Eva's face almost makes Lele laugh - she looks like she'd like nothing more than to throw the nearest object at the Big Game Hunter. But she dosen't, because she looks too tired to muster the effort. She turns and she sits, tapping her foot in annoyance.

 

"Matt does deserve to die, though," Lele adds quietly. Joey just sighs.

 

-

"I think I'm done," Matt says, looking back at his work, although he's holding way too many dolls. "Hey, maybe we can work together?" He asks Tim.

 

The boy is currently popping back and forth from his house to the note, nodding to himself and then brows furrowing as he realizes something might be wrong, which makes Matt nervous. Maybe he shouldn't be so arrogant about this? He checks again.

 

"I don't know if we're allowed to do that," Tim answers back with a laugh. "Well, worth asking," Matt replies, and Tim laughs. He goes back to checking and realizes that there is something he's missing. He checks his story again and notices he's used some things wrong.

With a quick fix he's almost 99% sure he's done. Before Tim can finish, Matt runs up to the table and slams his book down.

 

Before Tim catches up to him, the reddish-brown drawer has popped open, revealing nothing. There's a sound at the door, and a cream-coloured envelope appears. Matt grabs it. " _The antidote is attached to the back of the drawer._ "

 

Matt has no time to process his survival before Tim coughs. He turns around and The Mobster collapses. For a second Matt tries to convince himself that maybe he's just unconscious, that Tim got stressed and passed out, but the gnawing in his stomach knows something is very very wrong.  
  
"Tim!"

 

Matt rushes over to him as he's clutching his stomach. His heart thuds loudly in his chest. "Dude - you won. Go." Matt looks around, unsure of what to do. Maybe behind who's leaving all of the envelopes has a secret antidote? Maybe they can share! He takes the antidote from the back of the drawer and presses it to his friend. "Drink it! We can both live."

But Tim shakes his head as grey umber thunder looms outside the room. He smiles. "No - you won it. It's fine. Listen - it wasn't your fault Sierra died. You didn't know. But you're surviving now. Live for the both of us."

 

Matt isn't sure what to say, but he can't say anything before Tim spasms out of control. He stands up, cringing and spluttering poison. Stars and lullabies seem to dance in his eyes before his body twists horribly and he falls backwards onto the terra cotta couch, into the dolls. 

Matt's mouth drops open. Tim's died. Tears beat at the corners of his pupils in denial. No - no, he _can't_ be dead - he shouldn't!

 

What he said reverberates in his skull, bouncing back and forth like terrible rolling thunder. _Live for the both of us. Live for the both of us..._

 

Matt sighs. For a moment, he's kind of relieved to have survived. He cheers to himself and clinks his cure against an imaginary glass that his ghost of a cheerful friend. _At least he's with Andrea now,_ his broken torn mind thinks comfortingly. Somehow that dosen't make him feel any better.

He drinks, and the antidote tastes nice, like vanilla and something sweet. He stands. He looks over at Tim. His eyes are slightly open, but Matt can't bring himself to close them.

 

So instead he uses a doll's hand to do so. At least Tim might've found that kinda funny. Matt sighs, then leaves. He wants to cry. He really wants to cry. He lets himself shed a couple swift tears before wiping the warmth away and exiting. The stairs and house away from that room feels much cooler and more comfortable.

 

_And now I have to face everyone else._

_Live for the both of us. Don't give up. Fight. Stay determined..._

 

-

Eva's calmed down.

She's currently waiting in her chair with the others when suddenly they hear footsteps. Eva gives a small tense gasp, holding Oli's shoulder. She's expecting Tim to come down the steps merrily, smiling at the others and cracking jokes.

 

Instead they get Matthew Haag. And all of Eva's rage returns.

"WE SAID-" She begins, standing up before poor Joey can even begin to welcome him back. 

 

Lele also jumps up. "IF YOU CAME BACK HERE WE SAID WE'D KILL YOU." Her voice mingles with Eva's in a verbal smackdown on Matt, who looks tired and like he's been crying. Their voices together are like twin sirens, screaming angrily. "WE SAID-" The Journalist suddenly stops.

_Why was he crying?_

 

Lele berates him a bit more while Eva paces angrily. When Lele's done, Eva turns to him. "What happened?" She demands to know. Matt opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out, so he closes it and looks down. "What. Happened _?_ " Eva repeats, slower and more dangerous. 

"We both got poisoned - we had to fight for the antidote, and...Tim...died."

 

Lele sits, followed by a glaring Eva. Tim gave up, her mind whirling with thoughts. Sure, Matt might've been sad about Tim dying - big deal. He gave up on her friends and he gave up on contributing anything to the group. He stopped caring, so why should they keep trusting him?

Eva sits huffily. 

Matt recounts the story of Tim dying, and Eva can see him visibly shaking. Despite herself, she feels...bad. She remembers having to watch Andrea die, having to hear Justine's begging screams and see GloZell 'twerk-die' right in front of them. She catches his eye.

He seems to take her look, and he nods. 

 

"Okay, well, you got the doll and that's what matters," Joey says, and the others nod. "And besides, it's glad to have you back," Oli says with a smile at Matt, which the Professer seems to appreciate.

 

Eva stands. Enough berating and yelling. It's time to get back to business. "Okay - who's the next owner?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually like Mermaid Tales! Aside from the whole entire Matt-being-ganged-up-on thing. It's actually pretty fun to watch!  
> I'd actually like to maybe write a one-shot about him and maybe Lele escaping and becoming actual friends but then I'd have to kill Oli and Eva. Hmm. Maybe.  
> Next up, we can stop killing these two poor souls and kill off my fave...I'm relieved but at the same time nooo not again -
> 
>  
> 
> (Hey! Did you guys see the new episode?? The S3 Finale?? Seriously go check it out it's so sad but really good and it's such a great finale and the atmosphere and the zombies and actual jokes and it's so good ahh I don't wanna spoil anything but possible revival!? Ahh go watch it!)


	8. To Sway A Ghost - Eva And Tim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim sacrificed himself to help Eva live and escape the night. But we've killed Tim too much on this series already! So instead, what if the bullet wasn't in the third chamber that killed Tim, and was instead in the second?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we can leave Tim and Matt alone! Instead we get to kill off my ultimate etn otp, one at a time! First part of this horrific sad two-part series of Killing Dawson's OTP: Eva! 
> 
> I don't wanna do this.

Eva's really starting to hate voting for people. She's currently chatting away with Lele, sitting in the living room while the boys talk over near the library. Honestly, she's grown attached to all of them - she'd hate to see one of them go, but here they are, not learning from their mistakes, about to put the name of someone they want gone in a hat. And then Arthur will shuffle the names in the hat, and draw two out, and two people will go to a new room in the mansion, and then -

She loved the idea of voting last time when Matt's name was so easy to mark down on paper.

 

 

She sees Oli leave Tim and Joey. As soon as he's sat down next to them, Lele stands. "I'm gonna go talk to them," She says. She gets up and leaves, and she can just catch Tim trying to fix a statement that was probably about her, since Lele soon after pushes his face. Eva wants to chuckle or even smile, but she dosen't have the energy.

 

"Here, I'm just gonna be straight up with you - Joey voted you in."

" _Really?_ "

 

She knows she hasn't done that much, but really? She's been helping, she saved Lele's life, she... _she..._

_Oh._

 

She thinks of the events of the night, but comes up pretty short. She saved Lele, she solved some puzzles, and she thinks personally she's helped with advice and getting people motivated...alright, that's not really helping her case. A small panic begins to crawl through her stomach, and her gaze falls to the couch opposite from her. Her lip twists sideways, and suddenly The Journalist feels very very small. She tries to smile, to lift her head up high. "Well, I'm voting him in, then!" 

Somehow this declaration dosen't help.

Oli nods. "Me too."

 

Eva nods, quietly thanking him. She's glad to have someone beside Lele to have her back - she thinks of her other friends, like Shane and Andrea, and she's feeling anxious again. She wishes they were here to be by her, to make light of the situation and tell her everything will be fine. _Maybe there's something in this mansion that can bring them back to life?_ She thinks, half-smirking at her own joke.

But she sees Oli, and he's nervously looking at her, and she sends him a reassuring smile. She still has a friend. _Man - am I lucky to have him on my side._

 

"It's time to vote!" Arthur announces suddenly, startling her. She dosen't remember standing up, or voting, or anything, just sitting. The golden brown and terra cotta couches stabilize her, and she feels like throwing up.

Arthur grabs a paper from the hat, flattening his plum-dark-grey suit.

 

"Eva."

 

"What? Who voted for Eva?" Oli demands to know, and Eva now feels like passing out. The room starts to swirl in rich reddish-browns, but she shakes her head. Places it in her shaking hands. Okay - this is alright. I'll make it - I've done good in other puzzles. _I can make it out of here and survive! For sure!_

_I hope._

 

 

"Eva, you'll do great," Joey encourages.

 

"Do you think these are solider arms?" Eva shoots back, removing part of her coat and showing of her biceps. Joey nods, and Eva puts her coral coat back on. She waits until the second name has been called - it's fine if she goes in, but she dosen't want to lose anyone else.

Shane, Andrea, GloZell...

 

She can feel tears beating against her eyes, pulsing alongside her rapidly hammering heart. I don't want to see anyone else die.

 

"Timothy."

 " _Son of a-_ "

 

-

They enter the east side of the house; is a small yellow-grey room mixed in heathers and green-greys that look like they come straight from the _Prisoner of Azkaban_ cover. With a table in the middle and a few guns. Colin gives them one last hard stare - Tim expects Eva to blush or say something flirty like she was doing about half an hour ago, but now she stays silent. Tim dosen't blame her.

He would rather kill one of them then move on and leave his gold from the war behind. Tim wants to punch him, but Colin locks them in, nothing but a silhouette on the other side of the door.

 

"Now this is all-out war," A sudden gruff-sounded and hardened voice comes from the loudspeakers, which makes Tim start. "And you two are caught in the middle. Despite your best efforts, there will be a casualty tonight."

_Frick._

"Open the box in front of you. Do not show the other soldier what's inside. Do not touch the revolver until told to do so."

Inside the briefcase is a small battle-ship like game, just with small plastic soldiers instead of ships.  _Great theme,_ Tim grimaces.

 

"First off, each player must place their soldiers on the battlefield in the most strategic positions. On your turn, announce a pair of coordinates. Now, if the opposing player does not have a soldier on that space, you must put a peg there so that you don't call it again.  
"If the opposing player has a soldier on that space, they must pick up the revolver, place it to the side of their head, and pull the trigger. The battle will end when one of you puts a bullet through your skull."

_Holy crap._

_"Any funny business—anything at all—and our trained sniper will shoot you both on the spot."_

_Holy crap. Again. So one of us really is going to die here._

_Yay._

 

A sniper is carefully positioned behind both of them from outside the room as Tim sits across from her, sitting in the sort-of-comfy-but-grandma-old-furniture-comfy chairs. They can't even so much as get up without...well, Tim dosen't really want to think about it.

  
Eva sees his expression and sends him a tired but reassuring smirk. _Me too,_ she's saying. Tim places his hand across the table. Eva takes it. They both squeeze, then let go. They place their tiny little army-men across the boards.

"Ready," Eva announces.

 

"Let's go...B-4." Tim says.

"No. G-8."

_I hate this._

"No. F-3."

"No..."

_I hate this so much..._

 

-

"G-6," Tim guesses, and Eva winces. "Hit."

Tim picks up the revolver. He puts on a tough face, but Eva can see his hand shaking slightly. He places it to the side of his head, and exhales, his eyes closing. "I can't watch," Eva squeaks before hiding behind her hands. 

He pulls the trigger, and Eva expects a large shot to ring across the room.

 

_Click._

"Whew!"

Eva sighs in relief as Tim places the gun back down. He slightly smiles, taking Eva's piece that he guessed and putting it to the side before rubbing his hands together. "C-7." Eva is able to smile, and they'll be alright, she thinks. _This is great! Yeah! We're just playing battleship like we're 10-year-olds again, and this is just a fun little game, and oh look! Tim has a gleam in his eyes - see? He's smiling and planning strategically like this is just a game, which it is! It is..._

 

"No. E-2."

"No. B-1."

"No. E-10."

"No."

"I'm gonna die," Eva says quietly.

She can't bring herself to look the poor Mobster in the eyes. They go back into the rhythm of _A-16_ , no, and _J-14_ , no, and _B-17_ , no. Finally, it happens. "A-16." Eva checks, and checks again, and then triple-checks before admitting it.

"Hit."

 

Tim looks to be in pain. Eva just looks at him as she raises the smooth gun to her head. She's shaking violently, and bright colours and swirling through her vision of reds and greens and turquoises that she's making up in an effort to get away from the drab war-room. Tears stream down her cheeks, but she takes no notice.

 

_You'll be fine._

She conjures up an image of her family.

_You'll be fine._

She imagines getting out of the house, back to them.

_You'll be fine._

_I'm going to get out. I'll be alright._

_You'll be fine._

She looks around at the snipers, and at Tim. He gives her a frown, then tries to nod. "You'll be fine," He mouths. Eva nods. Her hand is shaking violently now. Her long cream nails can't wrap themselves around the gun well enough. She hates Colin for this, so much, and all this stupid war and these stupid snipers and-

_I just - I just need to-_

 

She hits the trigger.

_-_

_BANG._

Tim jumps and stands, not even caring about the snipers at the back of his head anymore. The Journalist slumps again the desk, the gun and her arm falling over the side of the umber-colored table. She almost looks like she's sleeping, but Tim can't look away from the giant bullet wound in the side of her head.

The shot rings out, through him, in his ears and swirling through his brain.

 

Tim swears loudly, and tears prick his eyes. He sits again, sitting across from Eva - Eva's body - and he takes the gun. He throws it across the room and slumps back into his seat, head in his hands. No...she wasn't supposed to be the one to die...  
After what seems like a while, although it's probably only been, like, 30 seconds, the loudspeaker blares to life once again. 

 

"You made it through, Private. Now get that gold over there and get out of here." Tim stands, and gets the gold. He leaves, but not before looking back at Eva's body. He feels like crying and all he wanted was a party and then to get back and to feed his poor cat and make himself some dinner, maybe spaghetti - but all he can do is mutter under his breath, a huge lump in his throat. The room suddenly feels brighter, making the room an almost bright yellow tint. 

It makes him feel better, but not by much.

He leaves.

 

"Take it," He snarls to Colin. The ghost is waiting by the steps. When he sees what Tim's holding, he grabs it forcefully and opens the box up. "Yes," He whispers, his voice ecstatic. "An innocent girl - a person with a heart and a soul - is dead because of you." He feels his sadness and grief immediately replaced by anger. " _Was it worth it!?_ " He snaps.

"Yes," Is Colin's awed reply.

 

"She's dead because of you! She had a major crush on you! She solved puzzles and cared so much about everyone and always knew what to do, and _you don't even CARE!_ " Tim's shaking with blinding rage now. Colin stands, and looks blankly at him. Then he smirks.  
Smirks.

"Well, she was in the way anyways - like I care what happened to that dumb little brunette."

 

He's a Mobster - he kills people who owe him money - Andrea covers it up, he makes a business off it - that's his role. Now, you can't exactly kill a ghost, but Tim feels so blinded that he does his best. Without thinking, he culminates his rage with a fist to Colin's face. It hits - hard. Colin's head snaps back, his pale-cream face contorting with shock. It makes a loud sound. Colin looks back at him. His nose is bleeding. Tim's shaking, but he's smirking.

"That's for Eva."

Colin disappears in a whisp of cream and white.

 

And his face is still is shock, too, which makes Tim grin. 

  
He grabs what he needs and makes his way back to the others.

 

 _I just punched a ghost._  
_Frickin' sweet._

 -

Tim's back.

 

Joey sits up, and his heart falls to his feet. The Mobster is shaking slightly, and the look in his eyes is no longer the smiling cheerful Timothy DeLaGhetto they know, but instead it's just...nothing.   
Eva's not with him, either. 

  
_And that must mean, she's..._

 

" _What?_ " Oli snaps as soon as Tim closes the door behind him, standing up. Tim crosses the room, placing their newest artifact on the reddish-brown mantle underneath the fire-place. The others stand in alarm."What? Eva's _dead_?" Lele asks, her mouth dropping open. Joey expects her to laugh in shock, but she looks close to tears. Before he can comfort her, however, Oli rounds on him.

 

"You voted her in!" He yells out.

Joey can feel his eyes widening. " _Me?_ I didn't vote her in!" His hands fly to his chest, pointed at himself defensively. "I swear I didn't vote for her - in fact, I voted for _Tim!_ " Tim just looks at him, flattening his grey attire, and Joey suddenly feels very scared at his lack of emotions. But then he hears a quiet, 'rude,' and maybe Tim's not so broken after all. 

 "Well somebody voted her in, and I was with you and Tim when you said that she would make a good solider, and how she hasn't done anything! So it was for sure one of you!" The other boy accuses, pointing separate fingers at both Joey and Tim.

"What? I didn't vote for Eva." Tim looks taken aback slightly. 

 

"Well, then who did!?" 

Oli continues to argue with Joey while Tim keeps looking at the mantelpiece and Lele looks three seconds away from sobbing into somebody's shoulder. _We're falling apart at the seams,_ Joey thinks in panic. If only they had - "I didn't vote for her, Oli!" he shouts at the Brit for what seems like the hundredth time now. Oli starts pacing angrily as Tim pats Lele on the back, as she's now sunk to her knees.

 

Joey wants to just say, "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I put Eva's name in," even though that's farther from the truth. But this is the thing that got their entire group fighting in the first place, back when Shane died and Justine wanted to know what to do with the body and Lele wanted to call the police and Matt wanted to play detective - accusing each other! Not communicating!

He wishes they were here right now.

 

Oli gives an angry huff and sits down, his head in his hands, bent over - he's seemed to be favoring that position over the last few hours. Tim sighs, and sits next to Oli, shaking his head.

 

"I'm sorry, man. But I promise it was quick - she didn't feel a thing." 

Oli stays silent. 

 

 After a bit, maybe a minute, Joey's heart has calmed down and his walls have crumbled from being accused, and he starts pacing the living room."Well - we only need one more. Maybe we'll all make it." Maybe they can have some sort of tactic, and maybe one of them _won't_ have to die again.

Oli looks up. "I hope so." 

 

Lele stands, crossing her arms. "I doubt it, but, okay." She looks so indifferent from the girl falling apart a few minutes ago. Everyone besides Joey stands, and they start down the terra cotta hallways that now feel haunted instead of rich and lively. _Now, where's that next puzzle we need to solve?_

 

"If it makes anyone feel any better, I punched Colin in the face." Tim says suddenly to no one in particular as they walk through the hallway. A twinkle's reappeared in his eye, and he's smiling. "Just like that - BAM! - he disappeared before he could retort." He holds up his fist as if it's the sign. 

Joey spins around. "Really?" He asks, laughing. Tim nods, shrugging his shoulders. Oli looks to Tim, slightly awed. "Man - you should'a seen the look on his face! He was in _shock_!" To his surprise, Oli laughs, and Joey sighs internally in relief.

_Good._

 

 Suddenly, there's a pull on his arm. It's Lele. Joey expects her to say she found their next puzzle, but he sees the red starting to form around her face, and he nods, letting her lead him away.

"Be right back, guys!" Joey calls over his shoulder as Tim dramatically tries to re-enact his "act of heroism against that rat."  
Once they'e in the next room, Lele starts to cry.

 

"Aw, Lele," Joey grumbles softly, pulling her into a hug. "I know it sucks that Eva's dead, but-" But Lele shakes her head violently. "It's not just that - _I was the one who voted her in_." She can't even meet his eyes.

 

 _"You?_ Why didn't you say anything?" Joey asks in alarm. 

  
"Because Oli would _kill_ me!" Lele sobs into his shoulder. "You _know_ how much he cared about her! You know how much he cares about all of us, especially her!" She hugs his shoulders much tighter.

Joey nods slowly.

"I - I didn't know who else to vote in! I just picked someone who hadn't done anything and - she was my best friend but - oh, Joey, I screwed up _bad_." Joey lets her cry her heart out for a moment, before she stops and steps back. "It'll be alright - it wasn't your fault, and there's nothing we can do about it now."

 

Lele nods. "You're right," She says, her voice broken. She sniffs. 

"Hey! We found something!" Tim suddenly calls from upstairs, followed by a scream.

 

Joey and Lele go to meet up with whatever this new thing is.

_And hopefully we won't fall apart this time._

 

_-_

Tim dosen't want to tell them that he was going to die.

Him and Oli are walking up the steps, and Tim wants to comfort his friend - _what do I even say?_ They've both lost Matt and now - this. Eva was one of their strongest players, and now-

He shakes the thought from his head.

 

Oli's staring at the floor as they move past the second floor hall. Tim decides - he won't tell him - that he was planning, that as soon as Eva's turn would click, he would immediately tell her, "Hit," and then he could get her out of there. Instead, he just walks closer to his friend and pats his back. 

 _I guess I wasn't meant to be the hero,_ his brain tells him. _But then again...I_ did _punch a ghost in the face._

 

Tim sends a silent salute to Eva's spirit, wherever it is.

 _Sleep well knowing that jerk has a bloody nose now,_ The Mobster grins to himself. _I promise we'll all get out of here - for you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did that have to be written and exist. Um also I got way too into the voting politics help. Also I loved writing the part where Tim just straight up punches Colin in the face because wow that was so satisfying to write.
> 
> Meanwhile. Next Up: We're killing Oli White and I want to die.


	9. Pray For A Miracle  - Oli and Lele

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only four of them left. Three of them are going to survive. And one of them is going to go up in smoke. Lele Pons unfortunately died in that basement. 
> 
> But, to end off this party's events with a bang + some sparks, what if Eva hadn't been able to save her partner from these special, "learning chairs?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't wanna do this I don't wanna do this I don't wanna do this -
> 
> Hey, Eva's back! - and now I'm going to have to put her through losing her best friend oh dear. Ugh Oli no. Poor cinnamon roll dosen't deserve this but I can't save him ack.
> 
> *Sigh* Alright. Here we go. Let's get this over and done with.  
> I'm so scared.

There's two chairs. _Electric_ chairs. They crackle and spark menacingly in the brightly-colored reddish brown Scientist's room, switches and boxes everywhere, and Eva has to keep from jumping back in complete terror. _They're going to shock them,_ she realizes in horror. She looks to Oli and Lele, who both look like they'd rather bury themselves in the ground. 

  
Joey is the last of them to come down the basement, and seems either too exhausted of the party's events or just ready to get this out of the way. Eva can tell he's thinking over the task that Vincent gave them; one that Arthur seemed rather wary around, trapped in a straightjacket and plum-blue attire, held up in another terra cotta room in this madman's house. He holds onto Lele's shoulders, and the four remaining YouTubers hover over a note that's set on the table in front of the chairs.

 

Eva clears her throat, and reads.

 

 -

_"My name is Dr. Price, and I have developed a unique treatment for overcoming hallucinations._

_Each voted-for guest needs to take a seat in their respective learning chair. Their partner must then lock them into the chair by securing the straps. Located across from the learning chairs are crates containing metal rings. Each of you must stand across from your partner, behind the chalk mark on the floor, and toss the rings into the five electrical rods. Missed rings will give their partner a little shock.  
T_ _he first guest to have three rings around any of the electrical rods will complete the circuit and cure their partner's hallucinations."_

 

 So this will give them hallucinations? Eva groans to herself. She thought they were done with all this crap.

 

 " _However, the guest who failed to learn will suffer a severe shock, which will end their life._ _You have thirty minutes before the chairs short-circuit on their own, killing both guests. The timer will start as soon as both guests are securely fastened into their chairs. Good luck."_

_-_

 Eva feels her heart stop as she and Joey both grab rings from a small caramel-coloured wooden box.

They're small and dark grey, and it looks like it should be an easy throw into the small cream-coloured pegs - but then Joey attempts to throw one. It spins through the dank air, then landing short of a peg.

Eva tries to focus on her task as the timer starts, but then she leaps backwards with a start as crackles shoot along the walls and Lele screams very inappropriate phrases at their host. "Sorry!" Joey squeals apologetically. Oli gives Eva a terrified look. She tries to ignore it.

 " _I promise you won't die down there - you aren't going to die, okay?"_ She remembers telling him 3 minutes ago. _"Stay with me, alright? Don't..."_ She throws a ring. It misses completely and causes Oli's chair to surge with electricity. He screams, and Eva cringes. She tries again and it misses again.

_Was I feeling confident about this whole thing earlier? Huh. Because I don't remember that._

 

-

Oli wants to get out of this stupid chair. But the black straps in his chair make sure he can't leave. Still - the creepy density of the basement, combined with Lele's screams and Eva's hurt expressions are killing him. Every noise makes him nervous and every small shock he gets makes his heart stutter in his throat. Eva throws another ring. It bounces off the peg, sending white hot pain through his body. Despite himself, he screams. 

Every electrical shock is sudden and awful and _painful_. Black streaks shoot through the terra cotta basement in his vision. "You got this, Eva!" He's starting to feel a lot weaker already. "How do I do this again?" Their host asks Eva. The Journalist ignores him and throws again. Shock rumbles beneath Oli's chair, and he cringes at the pain absolutely _blinding_ him.

He looks to the side, and Lele dosen't look like she's doing much better.

 

"Joey!" She yells at him, mid-wince. Joey's trying, but he keeps missing. Lele flinches at every throw as he aims behind the chalk line, and they all fall short. Oli's honestly kind of jealous; missing just short of the pegs would at least be better than-

" _Ow!!_ "

 

"Sorry!" Oli loves his partner to death, but he really wishes she could hurry up and save him. He's _so_ scared. 

-

While Oli's sitting against the awkward but terrifying "learning chair," Lele sits up straight, on edge, her foot tapping. She's almost leaning forwards. Her face is twisted in agony as Joey misses again, her eyeshadow creating a dark shadow in her haunted expression. Joey misses again. Another jolt of electricity jolts through her stomach and makes her feel like throwing up and passing out all at once. She gives a shriek and grits her teeth. She's shaking, badly, and her face twists up in pain.

 

Suddenly, Eva screams.  
"I got one!"

" _Yes!_ " Oli's now gone from screaming in pain to sitting up straighter, encouraging his ring-toss partner. " _Yes! Common Eva you got this!_ " He repeats the words to Eva again and again, and Lele turns to Joey. _Maybe I should try encouraging him?_ But then his ring his the peg, and violent streaks of heather-plum blue and olive-green slash across her already muddled smeared vision, and she takes it back.

 

"Joey - common!!"  
"I'm _trying!_ " The Savant yells back at her, clearly stressed out.

Lele shudders the heavy basement-scented air, and she's pretty sure she can smell some of Andrea's...corpse, down here. Ew. _Poor girl - poor me! I might_ die _down here! Just like her! And another thing - zzheja joahebzz mmaannz it iimetaz ajfuacpp sslaop-_ She throws her head back to normal and gives Joey a look. _"Ow!"_

 

Then, it happens.

"Lele I got one!"

 "You did!?" Hope swirls through Lele's heart, filling every single crack and fritz and uncertainty with restoration of hope. _You got this, Joey! Save me! And get me out of this total dump of a basement!_

_-_

Another miss, another streak of blinding murky pain, another scream. He's starting to hear things that are nothing but noise in his head; his vision is muddled black spots. "Eva - _please!_ I can't take much more of this..." His voice is tired and drained and begging; Eva looks absolutely heartbroken. Oli wants to comfort her, to tell her everything will be alright, but he can't, because he dosen't know. And then she misses, and instead of fighting it, without thinking, Oli lets himself be contorted by the chair.

It jostles him like he's having a seizure, and he gasps in sudden pain. Tears gather in huge proportions and spill down his face and he screams loudly. He tries to grit his teeth, but then it's all over, and every muscle in Oli's body feels useless and completely weak.

 

"Eva! Don't let me die here! Please! Don't..."

More muddled shades form, and soon Eva's just a brunette and coral-peach and golden blob in the slightly yellow-orange light of the reddish-brown basement, and other colours filter in where there wasn't before. The Eva-blob throws a ring, and it hits just outside the peg. More pain.

And then he can see bright yellow-orange blobs, and then they're forming people, and... _then they're all at Joey's party in the 1920s, their host's arms open wide, and Oli's talking about his trip from Africa, and Andrea and Shane and Matt are all alive and_ happy _and-_

 " _Eva..._ "

-

Eva aims and then sees Oli starting to learn forwards, and a lump forms in her throat in sudden panic. _Oh God he's passing out oh God what do I do ohmygodohmygodohmy-_

 She throws a ring. It hits the peg, and Oli sits up with a start and a sudden scream. " _Ouch!_ " Accompanied by Lele's scream. "Sorry!" Eva winces. "At least you're alright now, hah..." She gives with a half-awkward smirk and an equally awkward shrug. Oli gives her a look.

"I know. Sorry." She throws, and this time, it lands perfectly.

 _"Yes! Common Eva just one more!!_ " He's gone back to shouting endless encouragement at her, and Eva's heart warms with determination. 

 

She throws another ring. She dosen't even need to know she's missed, because Oli's scream is all she needs. Her heart sinks with his broken and messed-up expression; her mind flashes back to a couple hours ago, when he was Oli The Big Game Hunter, Oli who wouldn't hurt a fly and who would move Heaven and earth to make sure his friends were alright, with a fluffy caramel coat he claimed was ostrich and a happy twinkle in his eyes.

But now he's just Oli, strapped to a 1920s learning chair, with a broken expression and tears running down his face. Sudden determination floods through the coral-coated Journalist; _I have to get him out of here. I_ promised. _I promised I would save him._

_If I don't...I don't even wanna think about that._

-

 It's an exhausting rhythm of _throw the ring, no it missed, screaming, Lele yelling at me, try again,_ and Joey's back aches with bending down to throw the rings behind the chalk line. It takes all he has to not just break the rules and free both his friends from this awful fate they've been given, but he knows that that will just make things even more worse, and they'll _both_ die. "Joey, you're not trying!!" Lele screams at him, her face stained with pain and tears.

"Yes I am!"

"You're literally throwing it at my feet!!" _Throw the ring, throw the ring -_

"Lele I got one!" 

"REALLY!? _Yes!_ "

 

They're tied.

_Throw the ring, throw the ring -_

-

Lele's _exhausted_. How long have they been down here again? That stupid Vincent better appreciate what they're getting for him out of all this mess. Dark muddled cloudy spots form in her eyes, but she shakes it. She's not sure to feel hopeful for Joey or angry at him. She chooses anger. _Is he_ trying _to get me killed?_

 Her stomach slightly drops at the theory. She really hopes that isn't the case.

-

 

They go back into the rhythm, the sweat from the basement clinging to the back of his neck and forehead, his throat scratched and sore from screaming. Lele and Oli are both in absolute tears, with Lele screaming every word in the book and Oli just begging Eva to not let him die. Joey spins one right through the air.

It nicks the peg and Lele screams as sparks dance beneath her feet. The reddish-brown basement is really starting to get to him, and he's not sure if he can take much more of-

He throws a ring, and it lands perfectly. _YES!_ " Lele screams into the air, throwing her head back like it's the roar of a mighty sandy-coloured lioness. Joey gives a happy shuddery yell of relief and genuine excitement. _I did it - I actually did it!! Lele's gonna live, and it's all because of me-_

And then the electrician box in the middle of the room starts to hum.

-

Oli gives a look at Eva. The Journalist girl's face falls a million times over, and the muddled spots are gathering and swaying through his vision, but he looks at her anyway. _You're so strong,_ he wants to say. _You're amazing and kick-butt and I know you'll get out of here. You're my best friend and -_

_But - that means - that I -_

_-_

 

" _No!_ " Eva's voice is broken, and tears spring to her eyes - she dosen't care about the chalk line anymore. Without thinking, she rushes forwards as the humming grows insanely loud, trying to pull the black binds off of him before anything can happen, and so many words want to spill out of her mouth. _Oli - Oli I'm coming, I'm coming we're getting you out of here, I need you, it'll be alright, please-_

And then the box explodes in sound.

 

Bright white electricity makes Oli's side of the room completely explode. His body gets jostled in bright light. His eyes are screwed up painfully, and he lets out a scream like nothing Eva's heard before. Haunting and in pain and _real_. She backs away, covering her mouth in her hands, and she's absolutely _vibrating_ with nerves. Oli grits his teeth, and his body contorts violently in the chair, the humming being all Eva can hear from the box.

He's being whiplashed across the chair at lightning speed and Oli's head snaps back, with cracks shooting along the wall. Glass shatters, smattering loudly, and Eva can smell something rotting. He screams before goes limp, then stutters, and the basement's colour returns. His hands are still in positions that are a silent beg to be let out of his confines; his Big Game Hunter attire is completely smoked, and his head dangles from the side of the chair.

 

He's gone. Eva steps back, her eyes outright refusing to believe what she's seeing.

_Well....at least you don't have to watch anyone else die._

 

Eva bursts into tears.

All Eva can do is shake with nerves and sink to her knees, tears absolutely smearing all over her face while she can hear Lele and Joey's crying all around her. She can't stop shaking, and everything's warm in the basement and she can feel her own heart palpitating.

 

The floor has dropped from underneath her, and everything warm on her face is tears.

Quietly, still in tears, Joey stands as the key is shown to them. Eva, from behind her violently blurring tan hands, can see him side-step around his friend's body. Eva sees the smoke coming from the chair, and she sees Oli's body, and she's crying again. Joey closes his eyes. Her shoulder shake with her heaves, and she's _so_ tired. _I'm so sorry I should've been able to save you I'm so so so sorry -_

 

Joey's helped Lele out of the chair. She shakily rises and wobbles towards Eva. Before Eva knows it, she's pulled the other girl into a hug. Both girls cry, Lele's head in the crook of Eva's arm, Eva's head to her friend's head, both shaking, two girls, feeling small in a basement. Eva's reminded of when she saved Lele's life from the two glass tubes that took Andrea's life, and they were in a warm hug, Lele laughing and sparkling, and Eva relieved and proud, and then they went to the others, and they were all alive and they were all ready for the next adventure- and - and - Oli-

 

After a minute, Eva grips Lele by the arms urgently. "Are you okay?" She asks, her voice huskier than usual. Both their faces are smeared with tears. Lele gives a rumbled nod, and Eva pulls her in for another hug. Joey gets their final key, and him and Lele prepare to leave. Eva snaps her head up abruptly.  
"N-no, wait, hang on..."

She isn't sure why she wants to stay with him, but surely they can't leave him! _Not like this!_ She can see Lele and Joey exchange a look, and a nod. She can hear Lele whisper forcefully but gently, "Grab her," and she feels arms grab her shoulders. Panic makes her stomach drop as Eva realizes what this means.

"No! Please! We can't leave him like this!"

 

But they're dragging her away, key in hand, and she's getting farther from his body. The chair gives another shudder, and Eva can't stop herself from screaming hoarsely. "Just let me get rid of his binds, or something! Maybe he's still alive! Joey! Lele! Let me _go!_ "  
  
She looks at Arthur. His face is blank. Lele and Joey are equally as expressionless, solemn.

 

_He was Oli The Big Game Hunter...Oli who wouldn't hurt a fly and who would move Heaven and earth to make sure his friends were alright..._

 

She catches Oli, motionless in the chair. "I promised I would save him! No! Oli! _Oli!_ "

The door behind them slams.  
They leave him behind forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY. Are you okay? Do you need a cry? Here's some Kleenex and a fluffy soft blanket, we can chat in the comments until you feel better. Uggh I'm actually tearing up that was terrible and I hate myself right now ahhh-
> 
> Thanks to Leah and Dani you LITERALLY had to motivate me enough to write this I feel like such a dirt-bag and ugh I described the reddish-brown terra cotta basement and shipping because it was the only thing that would make me feel better.  
> Also I spent like 5 hours on this because it took so long oml
> 
> Next Chapter: Something where Oli's actually alive and his chipper cinnamon roll self please and thank you - but seriously next chapter better things! Much better things. hnnn-

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for checking out this story! It's a little bit of a weird idea, but I'm excited to write it! Each Season will have a prologue, then each chapter will be a death/challenge scene but reversed. If one character in that scene dies earlier, then the person who would best represent them would take their place. But that will only be near the end of the story; most of it will consist of small short stories that don't contribute to the overall story. For example, for Season One, if Eva dies instead of Tim, then the next chapter will have Eva alive as the short stories don't affect anything else.  
> If that  
> If that even makes sense.
> 
> But hope you enjoy reading this! ^^
> 
> -Dawson/Goldendoodlegamer11


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